MJB Law, LLC

07/10/2019

This is a big step in the right direction. It's morally reprehensible to jail someone because of their inability to pay a debt, especially a debt they incurred for being locked up and unable to pay their bail. We should've been using civil collection proceedings, not incarceration, to deal with these debts a LONG time ago.

The practice, which persisted in some local courts, was the subject of columns by Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger.

07/06/2019

Mr. Johnson was on probation to Judge Ohmer in the City. He was later accused of murder. BEFORE his trial, the City judge found Mr. Johnson has violated his probation (on the basis of the murder accusation - and nothing else), and revoked his probation, sending him to prison for 15 years.

A jury later found Mr. Johnson NOT GUILTY of the murder.

Mr. Johnson is serving 15 years for a crime that a jury found him not guilty of. This is our justice system.

Case highlights problems with Missouri's treatment of probation violations, where more people are in prison on probation and parole violations than all but two states.

06/24/2019

I'm so excited to announce that I've signed on to represent The Bail Project and their clients in bond forfeitures and warrant matters in St. Louis City and County. The Bail Project fights mass incarceration in the most effective, on-the-ground way possible - by getting people out of jail. Through its bail fund, and with the help of a dedicated team of national and local bail disruptors and advocates, The Bail Project directly impacts the lives of families and communities in St. Louis and beyond. I believe wholeheartedly in their mission, and I'm so looking forward to working with them in the fight against cash bail and mass incarceration!

The Bail Project is a national nonprofit organization that pays bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence. Because bail is returned at the end of a case, donations to The Bail Project can be recycled and reused to pay bail two to three times per year, max...

06/21/2019

This man has been tried SIX TIMES, and every single time, the same prosecutor can’t HELP but violate his rights in the SAME WAY. It’s astounding that this is even possible.

Justices throw out the most recent conviction of Curtis Flowers, who has been tried an extraordinary six times for a 1996 quadruple murder in Mississippi.

04/25/2019

Just sworn in this afternoon as a Federally-licensed attorney in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri.

04/25/2019

It was a tragedy made to order for a provocative news story. Marcia Johnson, 54, of St. Louis was found brutally murdered in her south...

04/08/2019

One of my favorite things about having my own law practice is the opportunity to see more of this lovely state, especially on a beautiful day like today.

Arraignment this morning in Bowling Green, MO. Call or message if you need help!

03/29/2019

Back in my old stomping ground this morning.

Call or message if you help!

03/25/2019

It’s a multiple-courts kinda Monday! Just finished in circuit court in Clayton - now over to St. Charles County.

Call me if you need help!

02/25/2019

This is deeply unsettling. Communications between law enforcement officers on the job are NOT confidential, and are often crucially important to understanding the sequence of events that led to an arrest. One has to ask why an ethical law enforcement agency would seek to hide what officers say to each other during such a massive and important operation like the response to Ferguson protests?

From 2014 to 2018, the Missouri State Highway Patrol used a disappearing text message app called Silent Phone, raising concerns about the possible undermining of open records laws and public oversight.

02/18/2019

GPS monitoring may sound like a fair alternative to cash bail, but, in the City, it costs $300, up front, per month, and requires a landline telephone (not to mention seriously restricts a person’s freedom). And that’s for PRETRIAL release, while you’re still supposed to be presumed innocent.

The Supreme Court’s new guidelines are encouraging. I’m hopeful those rules, along with efforts in the City and County to do away with cash bail, will help us see more people awaiting trial at home with their families (WITHOUT having to pay thousands of dollars for that freedom).

Once a month, Jocelyn Garner steps off a bus and walks into a dimly lit waiting room in the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis. Her name is called, and an