Section 13.43 Effect of Failure to Allege Element After State v. Parkhurst

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

5. (§13.43) Effect of Failure to Allege Element After State v. Parkhurst

Any defect that does not prejudice the substantial rights of the defendant will not invalidate an information or indictment. Rule 23.11; see also § 545.030, RSMo 2000 (listing defects that will not invalidate an information or indictment). Failure to allege an essential element in the information does not automatically require reversal. If the defense waits until after a conviction to contest the sufficiency of the charging document, the defendant is entitled to “narrow review,” under which the charging document will be deemed insufficient only if it is so defective that “(1) it does not by any reasonable...