Man Ordered to Be Quiet in Court Wins Retrial
A federal appeals court in St. Louis ordered a new trial for a man serving 15 years on a 1994 burglary conviction, saying a judge had been wrong to keep him from speaking to his defense attorney in court.
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals said the trial judge had demanded that Gary Moore only pass notes to his attorney despite Moore’s poor writing skills.
Court records said St. Louis County Circuit Judge Philip Sweeney told the defense, “There’s very little that needs to be discussed during a trial.”
The ruling said Missouri must free Moore, 41, from prison if he is not retried “within a reasonable time” but did not specify what that time frame might be.
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