Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Date unavailable
STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent v. MONIKA GEAN GRAY-EL, Defendant-Appellant
Monika Gean Gray-El was convicted of forgery after attempting to cash a stolen check. On appeal, Gray-El argued the trial court plainly erred by misinstructing the jury on the forgery count, specifically regarding the element of authenticating a writing versus possessing/using it as genuine. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding no manifest injustice because Gray-El did not dispute at trial that she used the check as genuine, only that she did not know it was stolen.