MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
BY ROBERT PATRICK
Of the Post-Dispatch
05/11/2005
An order that voided Missouri's indecent exposure law overlooked the facts of James Beine's conviction, the attorney general's office said Wednesday in asking the state Supreme Court to reconsider.
Beine, a St. Louis public school counselor, was not merely using a public urinal, the motion said, but "urinating in a circus-like manner" in an elementary school bathroom that adults did not generally use.
The high court overturned Beine's 2003 conviction on four counts of sexual misconduct involving a child by indecent exposure. In a 4-3 decision April 26, the majority found that the underlying law was so vague and broadly written that it could be construed as making it illegal to use a public restroom.
Unless that finding is reversed, Beine will be released from a 12-year prison sentence.
Posted by kshaw at May 12, 2005 05:23 AM