Supreme Court of Missouri

State of Missouri v. David Thompson

April 15, 2025

Summary

The Court affirmed Thompson’s convictions, rejecting his claims concerning uncounseled preliminary proceedings, the lesser-included-offense instruction, and the corrective instruction addressing inconsistent verdict forms. It held that Thompson knowingly and deliberately failed to exercise his opportunity to obtain counsel, waived any challenge to the submitted lesser-included instruction, and was not prejudiced when the trial court returned the jury for clarification before discharge.