Court Opinion

ID: 9771169
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 16:35:24.76712+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:26.319479
License: Public Domain

SATZ, Judge,
concurring.
Under present Missouri law, I am constrained to concur.
We, as appellate courts, repeatedly state that a trial court’s refusal to permit an alibi witness to testify is a drastic action, as drastic an action as granting a mistrial, and, therefore, when a request for either action is made, the trial court should exercise extreme caution in granting either request. See, e.g., State v. Mansfield, 637 S.W.2d 699, 703 (Mo. banc 1982); State v. Gooch, 659 S.W.2d 342, 343-344 (Mo.App.1983). It is curious, however, that, more often than not, we affirm the grant of the state’s request to prevent an alibi witness from testifying, See, e.g., State v. Mitchell, 674 S.W.2d 184, 185 (Mo.App.1984); State v. Harris, 664 S.W.2d 677, 680-681 (Mo.App.1984); State v. Diamond, 647 S.W.2d 806, 807-808 (Mo.App.1982); State v. Grissom, 642 S.W.2d 941, 946 (Mo.App.1982); But see, State v. Mansfield, supra at 703-704; State v. Gooch, supra at 343-344, and, with the same apparent consistency, we affirm the denial of the defendant’s request to grant a mistrial. See, e.g., State v. Johnson, 700 S.W.2d 815, 819 (Mo. banc 1985); State v. Lee, 654 S.W.2d 876, 879 (Mo. banc 1983); State v. Pickens, 699 S.W.2d 12, 13 (Mo.App.1985).