State v. Honeycutt
Annotate this CaseThe State charged Defendant with unlawful possession of a firearm in violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.070.1(1). Under a 2008 amendment to the statute, a defendant commits unlawful possession of a firearm if he has been convicted of any other felony. The third count of the indictment alleged that Defendant had been convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance in September 2002. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the third count of the indictment, asserting (1) when he was convicted of possession of a controlled substance, that conviction did not prohibit him from owning a firearm under the version of section 571.070 in effect at that time; and (2) the 2008 amendment of the statute, as applied to him and his 2002 conviction, violated the Missouri Constitution's ban on retrospective laws by imposing a "new duty or obligation" on him. The circuit court sustained Defendant's motion. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the Constitution's ban on the passage of any law retrospective in its operation does not apply to criminal laws; and (2) because section 571.070.1(1) is a criminal law, the circuit court erred in dismissing the charge against Defendant on the ground that the statute was unconstitutionally retrospective as applied to him.
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