Missouri Custody Attorney

Statement blocked in murder case against Mo. teen

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has blocked prosecutors from using part of a teenager's statement to police in her upcoming murder trial for the slaying of a 9-year-old neighbor girl.

In a decision released Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce said a juvenile officer wrongly participated in a state Highway Patrol interview of Alyssa Bustamante and "used deceptive tactics" while the teenager was being questioned about the death of Elizabeth Olten in October 2009.

Bustamante, who was 15 at the time of Elizabeth's death, has pleaded not guilty to an adult charge of first-degree murder. Her trial is scheduled for Sept. 13.

At a November 2009 hearing in which Bustamante was certified to stand trial as an adult, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified that she had confessed to the slaying and led authorities to Elizabeth's well-concealed body in the woods near where the two girls lived just a few houses apart in the Jefferson City suburb of St. Martins. Rice testified that Bustamante "stated she wanted to know what it felt like" to kill someone.

It was unclear from the court order released Wednesday whether that particular statement would be inadmissible during Bustamante's trial. The judge's suppression ruling referenced a page and line number on a transcript of Bustamante's videotaped statement, which has not been publicly released. The defense motion to suppress the statement had been filed under seal.

Assistant prosecutor Anji Gandhi and Bustamante's attorney, Charles Moreland, both said separately that they were prohibited from detailing whether the judge's order suppressed the statements referenced in court in 2009, or even whether the order covered most or only a small portion of Bustamante's statement.

But "what may have been heard at the juvenile hearing is not going to be relevant for what's heard at this trial," Moreland said. "When this thing is tried, the jury is going to hear a very different case than what was heard at that juvenile hearing."

Gandhi declined to comment on the affect the judge's order would have on the prosecution's case.

Because Bustamante was in juvenile custody at the time of her statement, anything she said to juvenile officer Tobie Meyer is inadmissible in her adult criminal proceeding, the judge said. The court order initially released Wednesday said Bustamante's statements to patrol officer Rice could have been used in an adult court trial had Meyer not participated in the questioning. But that assertion was deleted in what the court described as a corrected order released later Wednesday. Both orders were dated Tuesday and signed by Joyce.

Pendente Lite (Temporary Custody and Support) « St. Louis Attorney ...

Is a snobby legal term which inherently sounds sophisticated. Like most legal terms of art or causes of actions, it’s a Latin phrase; it means “while the litigation is pending.”

The phrase in Missouri Law almost exclusively refers to a judgment pending a final decree and dissolution of marriage. Consider the following: say A and B are going through a dissolution of marriage proceeding in Saint Louis County. They have four children, all of which are under the age of 15 — and thus are minors. A and B have substantial assets and liabilities which are deemed to be marital property. The Court, therefore,will have its hands full in making an equitable division of said property. A and B both travel with their families frequently, and each family would like to take the four children along with them. The Christmas Season is approaching and both A and B would like to have the kids with them for their family gatherings. Where will the kids be? Who is paying the children’s expenses during the litigation? What is their physical custody schedule? If one spouse was relying solely on the other for income during the marriage, how is he/she carrying on without the income? A judgment or settlement of the terms of the dissolution of marriage is not near.

Enter the Motion Pendente Lite (PDL). A PDL is a temporary court order as it relates to child support , child custody , and maintenance (aka alimony). It is where one — but usually both — parties petition the Court to enter temporary arrangements pending the dissolution. What makes the PDL important is that it is backed by the power and authority of the Court, and thus is binding. Upon the filing of a PDL motion, a date for hearing/trial is generally set. Depending on the subject matter of the PDL, evidence would need to be presented in support of the desired order (e.g., best interests of the child for custody, support using form 14, spouses’ income for temporary maintenance).

Although parties to a divorce generally do not like resorting to a PDL (because it usually means a settlement is not near and things have gotten fractious), it is sometimes a necessity to inject definite guidelines in what are often tumultuous circumstances.

Henry Elster, Esq.

Saint Louis Family Law Attorney The Choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.