Ryan Johnston Missouri Cases

Ryan Johnston appealed the denial of jury sentencing following his convictions for six counts of second-degree child endangerment, arguing the trial court erred by failing to make a timely finding of his prior offender status before submitting the case to the jury. The State conceded the trial court's error in misapplying the statute. However, the appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that Johnston failed to demonstrate actual prejudice from the procedural error, as his arguments regarding potential jury sentences were speculative and the "rules of the game" were not changed in a way that impacted his trial strategy.