Welcome to the intro to a new of posts focused on Evidence and Discovery.

As your public defender, my primary goal is to ensure you receive a vigorous and high-quality defense. However, a successful defense isn’t just built in the courtroom—it starts the moment we begin collecting the facts. The “facts” must be proven by “evidence” and the process of getting the “evidence” is called “discovery.”

In my initial introduction letter, I emphasize that the outcome of your case depends heavily on our teamwork and, unfortunaely, on speed.

The Danger of “Disappearing Evidence”

In the modern world, evidence is often digital. And while it seems logical that if video or audio recordings of the investigation and arrest were made, they would be available to the defendant and defense attorney — this is his is not always or perhaps even regularly true.

I’ve not worked in all the counties in the 24th Judicial Circuit; but in my experience, while some law enforcement agencies (LEAs) seem to retain evidence to provide to defendants, many don’t.

Clients with missing evidence they believe will show they are innocent, or prove they did not confess, or show they did not consent to search are rightly angry. Some believe a law enforcement officer (LEO) wants to hide inconvenient facts or wants to cover-up LEO wrongdoing.

Of course, the State will likely dispute this — and instead claim it is really neutral but short-duration retention policies.

And while some may think that if evidence did exist and was deleted for whatever reason by law enforcement, charges should be dismissed (and I agree), the law is not that simple; and more significantly, the law is LEO-protective… not criminal defendant protective.

While I am committed to moving swiftly, I need your input to know exactly what to evidence we need. Because if we don’t move quickly to identify, preserve, and obtain such evidence, it may be lost forever — and only to the disadvantage of the defendant, not law enforcement.

What’s Next?

This post kicks off a comprehensive series of posts in which I will discuss the specific types of evidence that can make or break a case in Missouri; what evidence is available in the 24th Judicial Circuit; and how long such evidence is retained. Over the coming weeks, we will explore (NOTE: Items with hyperlink “jump” to posts with that “tag”):

• Incident reports;
• Witness statements (post pending);
• K-9 (Dog) PackTrack Records;
• Taser logs;
• Dashcam videos;
• Bodycam videos;
• Flock camera data and images;
• Evidence photos (post pending);
• Booking photos & booking videos (post pending);
• CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) reports;
• Dispatch audio recordings;
• 911 recordings;
• Electronic Records:
  • Cell site data,
  • social media (post pending),
  • and more.
• Physical Evidence (post pending);
• Field drug test results;
• Drug lab test results;
• Blood alcohol test results.
• Private surveillance videos/images
  • Business surveillance cameras;
  • Homeowner Ring doorbell cameras;

Your Action Steps:

Learn what evidence might be available and useful for your case; and if you haven’t already, please Schedule a Meeting via my online scheduler. We need to discuss the timeline of your case and identify any urgent evidence that needs to be preserved immediately. Don’t wait—time is a factor that we must use strategically.