On February 6, 2019, Firm shareholder Josh Jones appeared before the Missouri Supreme Court to argue the case of State v. George Richey, SC97604. The Firm represented the State of Missouri as respondent. The appeal concerned the propriety of, and methods for, requiring indigent convicted criminals to pay for their room and board while in the county jail. The appellant, George Richey, claimed that the trial court lacked the authority to require him to pay the board bill for his time in the St. Clair County jail. Mr. Jones argued that the trial court fully complied with existing Missouri law and the appeal should be denied.
The case has received significant attention from the news media, with articles appearing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Columbia Missourian, the Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly and other outlets. In addition, a number of advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, filed briefs as friends of the Court on behalf of Mr. Richey.