2020 and 2021 Trial Update

Hello beautiful people,

COVID has brought forth many changes in the way the courts now do business. Of particular interest is how involved Judges have become in attempting to facilitate compromise in criminal cases. Prior to COVID, Judges remained distanced from the discussions; but now, Judges are actively urging both the prosecution and defense to attempt to reconcile their differences through suitable plea agreements.

By definition, a plea agreement is a compromise between the prosecution and the defense. If those same parties cannot reach plea agreement in a criminal case, a trial will result. Our office reaches plea agreements on most cases, but not all. Here are a few of the cases we have had jury trials on over the past two years:

State v. Dudley, November 2021: Defendant charged with murder second degree and armed criminal action. Defendant found not guilty of murder second degree by a jury of his peers in Jackson County, Missouri; however, they did find him guilty of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.We were able to show the jury that Defendant had used a firearm to defend his brother who was being severely beaten. Interestingly, one of the jurors reached out to our office the day after and asked that he be allowed to testify at the sentencing hearing to request leniency on behalf of the Defendant. Never have we had a juror reach out to us in any capacity to assist our client after the trial; truly a unique circumstance.

State v. Born, September 2021: Defendant charged with rape and aggravated criminal sodomy. Defendant found not guilty by a jury of his peers in Wyandotte County, Kansas after we tried the case. Toxicologist Chip Walls (out of Miami, FL) was used as a defense expert witness to establish that our client did not, in fact, use drugs to harm the alleged victim in this matter. The jury determined their sexual encounter was completely consensual.

State v. Johnson, July 2021: Defendant charged with statutory sodomy in the first degree. Defendant found not guilty by a jury of his peers in Livingston County, Missouri after we tried the case. Serious accusations were made against our client following a bitter divorce; however, we were able to show the jury the true reality of this awful situation and they acquitted him, accordingly.

State v. Akopyan, May 2021: Defendant charged with felony DUI in Johnson County, Kansas. Defendant found not guilty by the Judge in this matter. After an hour and a half cross examination of the arresting officer, we were able to show his overall assessment of the situation lacked proper evidence. The officer was a great guy and his administration of standard field sobriety testing was reasonably executed, but as the Judge indicated after the trial: "there is a vast difference between probable cause to arrest and beyond a reasonable doubt to convict."

State v. Aguilar, March 2020: Defendant charged with rape first degree, sodomy first degree, and sexual abuse. Defendant found not guilty by a jury of his peers in Jackson County, Missouri after we tried the case. Serious accusations were made against our client relating to a sexual encounter in a basement. We were able to show throughout the trial minor details had been overlooked, proving conclusively the alleged victim had made a makeshift bed in the basement prior to his arrival. We were also able to find the cigarette they had shared afterward that was missed by law enforcement during the investigation.

State v. Whitley, February 2020: Defendant charged with rape first degree, and two counts of sodomy first degree in Jackson County, Missouri. Defendant was released after the jury could not come to a unanimous decision. The case was ultimately resolved through a plea agreement in 2021.

We are fortunate to be in a position of trust where people all over the midwest can turn to our office in their darkest times of need. Some are guilty, some are innocent, but all need strength to ensure they make it through.

-Greg Watt at www.kcmetrodefense.com