The Supreme Court of Missouri has ordered a new trial in Buchanan County for a man convicted on statutory sodomy charges in 2009.

In a 5-to-2 decision, the high court held that Edward Hoeber’s jury instructions were insufficient to ensure the panel unanimously agreed on the specific acts for which they found him guilty.

The court also held that by not objecting to the instructions, Hoeber’s lawyer failed to provide competent legal assistance.  In a dissenting opinion, Judge Zel Fisher argued that the finding of the jury was appropriate, given Mr. Hoeber’s confession to police, which Judge Fisher said was “quite clear in detail,” and established two incidents of  improper touching of the then four-year-old victim.

The court remanded the case back to Judge Daniel Kellogg for a new trial.

The court’s summary and ruling can be found here.