Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Dec 24, 2019
State of Missouri vs. Owen Lee Roberts
Owen Roberts appealed his convictions for first-degree assault and armed criminal action, arguing the trial court abused its discretion by denying a mistrial. Roberts contended that a prosecutor's statement during voir dire, indicating the jury would not decide punishment, improperly revealed his prior criminal convictions to the venire panel. The appellate court affirmed the convictions, holding that the prosecutor's statement did not disclose or imply Roberts's prior criminal activity and therefore the trial court did not abuse its discretion.