JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Prosecutors do not have to prove where a crime happened to win a conviction, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case of a man who raped his stepdaughter in St. Louis.
The man claimed his conviction should be overturned because the judge did not allow his attorney to argue that prosecutors had not proved that the rape occurred in St. Louis City rather than St. Louis County.
The man's attorney argued that the standard jury instructions, approved by the Supreme Court, require prosecutors to prove that a crime occurred in the county where the trial is held. The Supreme Court struck down its own jury instructions in its decision that the venue where an offense occurred is not subject to the same element of proof during the trial as the crime itself.
Follow @@joeharris_stl
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
Top 8 today September 19, 2023 -
-
Top 8 today September 13, 2023
-
