State v. Oates, 540 S.W.3d 858

Oates brought a gun to a gas-station drug sale, leaned into the buyer’s car, and fell into the backseat when the driver accelerated; he then shot and killed both occupants.
Indictment charged two counts of second-degree murder (conventional murder) and two counts of armed criminal action.
The State gave notice before trial it would alternatively submit felony murder (under attempted distribution of a controlled substance) for the second-degree counts; court overruled Oates’ motion to strike that notice.
At trial Oates testified he shot in self-defense after one occupant allegedly produced a gun and the other reached for it.
The court instructed the jury on conventional murder and manslaughter (with self-defense instructions) and, in the alternative, on felony murder; the court refused Oates’ requested self-defense instruction as to felony murder.
Jury convicted Oates of felony murder (both counts) and related armed criminal action; Oates appealed arguing (1) denial of self-defense instruction on felony murder and (2) error in submitting felony-murder instructions when indicted for conventional murder only.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Oates)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Whether defendant was entitled to a jury instruction that self-defense applies to felony murder	2007 statutory changes make self-defense an "absolute defense to criminal prosecution," so it should bar felony-murder liability where the defendant used force in self-defense	Self-defense statutes justify only the defendant’s use of force and therefore only defend prosecutions for that use of force; felony murder prosecutes the commission of an underlying felony (not necessarily the use of force)	Court held self-defense is not a defense to felony murder as a matter of law because felony murder prosecutes the underlying felony, not necessarily the defendant’s use of force; refusal to give the instruction was correct
Whether submitting felony-murder instructions (when indictment charged conventional murder) violated constitutional notice or due-process rights	Submission deprived Oates of being tried only for offenses charged and violated due process because indictment did not allege felony murder	State notified Oates pretrial of its intent to pursue felony murder; Oates had opportunity to defend; constitutional claim was not preserved in circuit court	Court rejected the claim as unpreserved; Oates did not seek plain-error review and suffered no prejudice given pretrial notice; felony-murder submission affirmed

State v. Newman, 605 S.W.2d 781 (Mo. 1980) (self-defense not a defense to felony murder)
State v. Burnett, 293 S.W.2d 335 (Mo. 1956) (same principle)
State v. Burrell, 160 S.W.3d 798 (Mo. banc 2005) (felony-murder liability attaches for deaths that are natural and proximate result of felony)
State v. Moore, 580 S.W.2d 747 (Mo. banc 1979) (identity of fatal actor irrelevant under felony-murder rule)
State v. Driskill, 459 S.W.3d 412 (Mo. banc 2015) (constitutional claims must be raised at first opportunity to preserve review)
State v. Baxter, 204 S.W.3d 650 (Mo. banc 2006) (defendant bears burden of showing manifest injustice under plain-error review)