CARDINALS PREVIEW Heyward, Carpenter, others benefit as winning tradition is passed on 32-PAGE SPECIAL SECTION
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SUNDAY • 03.29.2015 • $2.50 • FINAL EDITION
ST. LOUIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURTS
A WEB OF INFLUENCE in the county’s 81 municipal courts hold roles in multiple courts while also working as private defense attorneys.
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The Post-Dispatch obtained full or partial dockets from 21 cities. it h Ch e u n g Ke
They show how often some of the v e n Clar main players Ste k interact in court.
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A GRAY LINE connecting lawyers th Don n e l l S mi means they either served as prosecutor or judge in the same court or one lawyer was a defense attorney in a court where the other was a judge or prosecutor.
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A RED LINE connecting lawyers means that they each took a turn as Jenn i fer Fi defense attorney in the court where the other lawyer served as prosecutor or judge or they serve together as prosecutor and judge in one court and in another court one was defense attorney and the other was judge or prosecutor. r she
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There’s an elite club of lawyers who swap roles from city to city BY JENNIFER S. MANN, JEREMY KOHLER AND STEPHEN DEERE St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Nathaniel Slate was in the crosswalk when the car hit him from behind, sending him tumbling over the hood and onto the pavement. “Where did you come from?” asked the driver, Thomas R. Battreal Sr., who according to a police
report, slowed just long enough to ask the question after ignoring the pedestrian crossing sign. Battreal then took off down Emma Avenue in Jennings. It was Feb. 20, 2014, a sunny, dry day. Battreal, 86, later told police that he made a right turn and “all of a sudden there was a black guy on my hood.” They charged him in municipal with•failure to yield for a Seecourt COURTS Page A1
Cities with antsy NFL teams are ‘in the fourth quarter’ BY DAVID HUNN St. Louis Post-Dispatch
PHOENIX • The face of St. Louis foot-
ball walked the gilded halls of the Arizona Biltmore hotel last week, in double-buckled loafers, a blue plaid suit, aviator sunglasses and a grin. At the close of last week’s annual meeting of National Football League owners, there was no longer any doubt: Stan Kroenke wants to move the Rams to Los Angeles. On Monday, a league executive
briefed teams on Kroenke’s plans for a glamorous, 80,000-seat, $1.86 billion stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Afterward, a group of key owners and league executives made another thing clear: Moving the Rams will be difficult if St. Louis planners nail down a proposal to build a new football stadium downtown. And that shifts the fate of St. Louis football out of the enigmatic owner’s hands and — temporarily — into those See STADIUM • Page A11
INSIDE
Clayton firm specializing in municipal law is now coming under increased scrutiny. Page A10
pedestrian in a crosswalk and leaving the scene of an accident. Battreal hired an attorney and just over a month later, the prosecutor recommended one charge be dismissed and the other be amended to “illegal parking.” Battreal paid $250 plus court costs and was done with it, never having to worry about the accident going on his driving record. His defense attorney was Ronald
Tweens left without their own devices Parkway sixth-graders ‘rough it’ at camp, leave the phones at home HOME & AWAY • H1
Brockmeyer — then one of the more prolific players in St. Louis County’s municipal court system and the judge in Ferguson. Brockmeyer resigned from all five municipalities where he was either prosecutor or judge after a Department of Justice report March 4 accused him and other court officials See COURTS • Page A8
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