KMOX Legal analyst Brad Young joined Total Information AM for a roundup of some of the legal issues in the region. He shared analyses on court cases, marijuana, and more. Listen:
The Lamar Johnson case
"Yesterday, we heard some discussion between Judge Mason and Kimberly Gardner, even in the in the actual hearing, based on the fact that Mason was questioning whether James Howard — who literally confessed on the stand, it was like something you would see in a movie — confessed on the stand to committing murder. But the judge wasn't sure that James Howard had been advised that he could be convicted of another crime in the event that he confesses to another murder. So that's really playing out again, like a movie right before our eyes."
Can businesses still test for marijuana now that it's legal in Missouri?
"The answer is yes, businesses can still test for marijuana under Section 287 of the Missouri Workers Compensation Act. Employers are allowed to test for suspicion, they can do random drug testing, they can even do pre-employment drug testing. But here's the hook — marijuana is not specifically listed under Missouri law. It says 'alcohol or controlled substances.' Now, marijuana is no longer a controlled substance in Missouri. It is still a controlled substance federally, but if federal legislators — they're discussing it right now even — legalize marijuana on a federal level, then that quirk under Missouri law means that unless the law is changed, employers would not be allowed to test for marijuana because it would no longer be considered a controlled substance."
Where do panhandling laws stand after the Robert Fernandez lawsuit?
"What these municipalities have done in response to his prior settlement of $150,000 is they've enacted laws that say you can still panhandle, you just can't do it in the street. And under the Constitution, panhandling would be considered commercial speech, and commercial speech can be regulated. So I think that these new laws will actually be upheld, because they apply not based upon the content of the speech, but on the conduct of the beggar so to speak. If they could do it on the sidewalk, they just can't do it in the street. I think we'll see those laws upheld."
Hear more from KMOX legal analyst Brad Young:
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