Friday, January 6, 2017

The Missouri Criminal Code has been rewritten. Why?

In the state of Missouri, the "criminal code" is the series of laws that make certain kinds of conduct crimes and proscribes punishments for those crimes. Originally, about 4 decades ago the criminal code was written "to organize Missouri's criminal laws into a coherent body of statutes, eliminate archaic language, provide consistent and complete provisions regarding sentencing and provide clear statements not only of the elements of the particular crime, but also of the general principles and defenses which affect criminal liability". Univ. of Mo-Columbia Sch. of Law, The New Missouri Criminal Code: Manual for Court Related Personnel Section 1.1 (1978).


Apparently, over the past 40 years since this original code was written, the legislature believed it to have been degraded through the enactment of amendments trying to address the crime of the day. The Revised code that went into effect in 2017 seeks to fix all that by making the code easier to read and understand, eliminating outdated/obsolete crimes, classifying offenses differently for a more nuanced, fair approach to sentencing and putting as many criminal statutes in one place as possible.

So how does this affect you?

Simple. Some things that used to be crimes no longer are. Some things that weren't crimes last week, are crimes now. Some crimes are still crimes, but the punishments are different. The rest is legal mumbo jumbo making with the intention of making it easier to figure out what the hell the law even is.

Its too early to tell whether or not the revisions were a good idea. While I have spend some time reading it, it is impossible to tell how the revised code will work in the real world until I've worked with it, you know, in the real world. So, stand by. I'll try to write a little more about the specific changes and how the new, revised code will actually affect the lives of Missourians in this space as I experience it.

The Glaesman Law Firm, LLC is a full service criminal defense law firm located at 820 S. Main St. Suite 208, St. Charles, Missouri 63301. If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime or is facing a probation violation hearing, call them right away to discuss your options.