State v. Carson

BENTON, Judge.

Following a jury trial, Maurice Carson was convicted of second degree trafficking and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. § 195.223.2(2); § 558.011.11 The Court of Appeals would have reversed Carson’s conviction and ordered his discharge due to an improper jury instruction patterned after MAI-CR3d 325.16.2 This Court granted transfer because the opinion filed was contrary to other appellate decisions and involved a question of general interest and importance. Mo. Const, art. V, § 10; Rule 83.03. Judgment reversed and case remanded.

I

On June 9, 1994, two plainclothes police…