Screenshot
via
Twitter
Everyone’s
favorite
gun-waving
neighbors
Mark
and
Patricia
McCloskey
discovered
yesterday
that
the
Missouri
Supreme
Court
is
less
willing
than
the
state’s
governor
to
look
the
other
way
to
score
political
points.
The
McCloskeys
barged
into
our
collective
consciousness
after
Mark
showed
up
as
Club
Casual
Tony
Montana
ranting
at
pedestrian
protestors
walking
past
his
house.
Patricia
armed
herself
with
a
pistol
for
good
measure
and
the
couple
became
right-wing
media
darlings
for
“standing
up”
to…
people
on
the
sidewalk.
Unfortunately
for
the
McCloskeys,
the
castle
doctrine
doesn’t
apply
to
using
guns
on
your
property
to
menace
people
not
on
your
property,
so
prosecutors
slapped
them
with
felony
charges
under
the
state
law
making
it
illegal
to
“Exhibit[],
in
the
presence
of
one
or
more
persons,
any
weapon
readily
capable
of
lethal
use
in
an
angry
or
threatening
manner.”
They
would
eventually
plead
guilty
to
misdemeanors
and
then
immediately
renounce
that
they
felt
any
remorse.
Governor
Mike
Parson
took
a
break
from
trying
to
put
people
in
prison
for
understanding
the
internet
to
pardon
the
McCloskeys
and
shore
up
his
conservative
bona
fides.
But
pardons
don’t
mean
the
crime
didn’t
happen,
and
the
state’s
chief
disciplinary
counsel
instituted
an
action
against
the
couple’s
law
licenses
citing
the
guilty
plea
as
proof
that
each
committed
an
offense
involving
moral
turpitude.
Yesterday,
the
Missouri
Supreme
Court
suspended
the
licenses
of
Mark
and
Patricia
indefinitely,
citing
the
moral
turpitude
angle.
The
order
is
stayed
pending
the
completion
of
a
one-year
probationary
period
where
they
both
have
to
keep
their
noses
clean
and
perform
100
hours
of
pro
bono
services.
Frankly,
the
couple
is
lucky
the
justices
didn’t
zero
in
on
the
post-plea
renunciation
of
remorse
—
an
act
that
the
initial
complaint
claimed
“demonstrated
disrespect
for
the
judicial
process.”
From
a
lawyerly
perspective,
that
seems
like
a
more
direct
affront
to
the
profession.
With
this
behind
him,
Mark
can
return
to
his
Senate
campaign
where
he’s…
probably
going
to
get
crushed.
The
problem
with
having
AR-15
minutes
of
fame
is
it
doesn’t
last
forever.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.