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Nixon asks for rehearing in Beine case

06:04 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Jefferson City, Mo. (AP) -- The attorney general on Wednesday asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider a decision that overturned the sexual misconduct conviction of a defrocked priest while declaring a state statute unconstitutional.

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James Beine

Attorney General Jay Nixon claimed the ruling in James Beine's case was a "draconian result" for what he argued was merely an error in jury instructions. Nixon suggested the law should have been upheld, and Beine's case referred for a new trial.

In its 4-3 ruling last month, the Supreme Court ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove that Beine, a counselor at St. Louis' Patrick Henry Elementary School during the 2000-2001 school year, committed wrongdoing when he allegedly exposed himself to boys while urinating in a school bathroom.

In the ruling, special Judge Charles Blackmar called the state's sexual misconduct law unconstitutionally broad and said it "leaves adults in a state of uncertainty about how they may take care of their biological needs without danger of prosecution when a child is present in the same public restroom."

While asking the Supreme Court to rehear case, Nixon contended the bathroom was not a public facility, but rather used only by children. And he said Beine had no constitutional right to urinate in any manner he chose.

Nixon contended the Supreme Court overlooked the law's requirement that the exposure be performed in a manner that a reasonable adult would believe to cause affront or alarm to a child younger than 14.

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Jay Nixon

The Supreme Court could have addressed that by simply ordering a retrial with instructions to jurors to determine if the accused "knowingly" exposed himself in a way to cause children alarm, he said.

"Beine knew what he was doing. The complainants knew what he was doing," Nixon said at a St. Louis news conference.

In the court filing, Nixon argued that "declaring a statute unconstitutional, penalizing the state for following the approved (jury) instruction, and preventing any retrial is a drastic remedy."

The Supreme Court last week ordered Beine freed from prison on appeal bond, though his attorneys say the man has opted to stay in prison out of concern for his safety if released. Beine's attorneys have said he has no home and worries that being cooped up under home confinement ordered by the Supreme Court could make him a target of vigilantism.

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