Public Defense

Sedgwick County PD stops taking new cases for now

Posted on December 09, 2008
Here is a Wichita Eagle article reporting that the Sedgwick County PD's office will stop taking cases for a few weeks because of caseload issues. The article indicates that cases will start being assigned to private attorneys, who will be reimbursed by the state...

Lesser in juvenile case

Posted on December 09, 2008
Marc Schultz won in In re A.W., a Shawnee County juvenile robbery prosecution. The jury took less than an hour to come back with a lesser verdict for misdemeanor theft. I guess jury trials can work in juvnile cases!

Prior drug use is not automatically admissible in possession case

Posted on December 05, 2008
Shawn Minihan won in State v. Boggs, No. 96,921 (Kan. Dec. 5, 2008), getting a new trial in a McPherson County drug prosecution. Here is our previous blog entry on this case. The KSC agrees with the COA that evidence of prior drug use was not relevant to his possession case...

You don't have to acquit to consider a lesser [NOT FINAL]

Posted on December 05, 2008
Lydia Krebs won today in State v. Espinales, No. 98,193 (Kan. App. Dec. 5, 2008)(unpublished), getting a new trial in a Douglas County murder prosecution. Mr. Espinales was originally charged with first-degree murder and district court gave lesser-included offense instructions for second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter...

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State has to prove obstruction as charged [NOT FINAL]

Posted on December 05, 2008
Matthew J. Edge won in State v. Ochoa, No. 98,922 (Kan. App. Dec. 5, 2008)(unpublished), reversing a Wyandotte County obstruction conviction. The state charged Mr. Ochoa with obstructing Officer Bussell with relation to arrest on a automobile burglary...

Acquittal in less than an hour

Posted on December 04, 2008
Here is a Hutchinson News article reporting that Janis Knox won an acquittal in State v. Schutte, ending a Reno County child abuse prosecution.

January 2009 KSC docket

Posted on December 04, 2008
Here are the criminal cases on the KSC docket for January 26-28, 2009. These summaries are based on the issues listed in the briefs filed and may not very accurately or fully describe the actual issues in the cases. I recommend you review the briefs yourself if you would like more details...

Look for the expiration date [NOT FINAL]

Posted on December 04, 2008
We had a couple of probation violation appeals in the last couple of weeks that I thought might be worth mentioning.Patrick H. Dunn won in State v. Snapp-Woods, No. 98,765 (Kan. App. Nov. 21, 2008)(unpublished); the COA reversed and remanded for discharge because a "Consent and Order to Extend Probation" was filed two days after expiration of the probation term...

Nice article on public defender pay discrepancies

Posted on November 29, 2008
Here is a Wichita Eagle article reporting on pay discrepancies between Sedgwick County prosecutors and public defenders, and some of the implications of that salary gap. I think the discrepancies are even bigger in Johnson County (and are probably less in some other districts, although I would guess that prosecutors get paid more than public defenders in every county that has a district attorney)...

My trash isn't public! [NOT FINAL]

Posted on November 29, 2008
Roger Falk won in State v. Hoffman, No. 99,755 (Kan. App. Nov. 26, 2008), affirming Judge Frederick's suppression order in a Greeley County drug prosecution. The COA majority decided the case turned on whether the owner retained a sufficient expectation of privacy in some trash...

Is the Intoxilyzer 5000 racist?

Posted on November 28, 2008
Connecticut DUI lawyer James O. Ruane claims that the Intoxilyzer 5000 is racially biased. In a recent case, Ruane filed a motion to suppress the results of the Intoxilyzer. He stated: the lung capacity of a black man is 3 percent smaller than a white man and, therefore, black men?s test results vary from the sobriety standard set by the device...

You can't attempt to solicit [NOT FINAL]

Posted on November 25, 2008
James Pratt won in State v. Rexroat, No. 99,432 (Kan. App. Nov. 21, 2008)(unpublished), affirming Judge Frederick's dismissal of a Finney County attempted indecent solicitation prosecution. Lucille Douglass was the defense attorney at the district court level...

Judge ordered to desist

Posted on November 22, 2008
Shawnee County District Court Judge Mitchell received a cease and desist order from the Judicial Qualifications Commission for testifying as a character witness in a case, which judges are not allowed to do. Here is the Topeka Capital-Journal reporting on the disciplinary action.

Dismissal of Western Kansas murder case

Posted on November 21, 2008
Here is What the Judge Had For Breakfast's report that the state will dismiss without prejudice murder charges that have resulted in two hung juries. The dismissal order indicates that the parties anticipate that it will be final unless the state discovers some new evidence in the future that "materially strengthens" its case...

Prosecutorial misconduct [NOT FINAL]

Posted on November 21, 2008
Rachel Pickering won today in State v. Morris, No. 97,785 (Kan. App. Nov. 21, 2008), obtaining a new trial in a Pottowatomie County aggravated indecent liberties with a child prosecution. The COA observed that the misconduct sort of ran the gamut:The prosecutor's examination questions to witnesses and remarks in closing argument to the jury, which stated the prosecutor's personal opinion of witnesses' credibility; suggested to the jury that it should abandon its common sense when considering these kinds of cases; expressed the prosecutor's personal belief on matters outside the evidence; vouched for the State of Kansas; referred to matters not in evidence; vouched for the credibility of the State's witness; solicited testimony from the defendant on the credibility of another witness; buttressed the credibility of the State's witness; and appealed to the passion and prejudice of the jury, were improper and constituted prejudicial error because the questions and remarks called the jurors' attention to matters that would not have been proper for them to consider in arriving at their verdict...

Short list for KSC

Posted on November 14, 2008
Here is the news release announcing the short list for the upcoming vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court: Overland Park attorney Dan Biles, Douglas County Chief Judge Robert W. Fairchild and Court of Appeals Judge Tom Malone.The governor has a lot of pending judicial appointments at a time when there is a lot of speculation whether she will even be governor 60 days from now!

Explaining late appeals

Posted on November 14, 2008
Autumn Fox and Doug Thompson won today in State v. Patton, No. 95,860 (Nov. 14, 2008) getting a late appeal for their client. Along the way, the KSC felt the need to refine the substance and procedure for late appeals under State v. Ortiz:We need not repeat the rest of our Kargus discussion here...

Short list for district judge in Lawrence

Posted on November 14, 2008
Here is the announcement of the short list to fill a vacancy in the Seventh Judicial District, including former ADO B. Kay Huff; and Sally Davis Pokorny, a Lawrence attorney, and Kenneth M. (Mike) Warner, an assistant U.S. district attorney in the Western District of Missouri.

Second short list in First district

Posted on November 14, 2008
Having just filled the first of two vacancies in the Northeast Kansas judicial district, here is the announcement of the second short list of district court nominees, including Gerald R. Kuckelman, Atchison County Attorney; Michael F. Willcott and Danny K...

Not guilty in Lyon County rape case

Posted on November 11, 2008
Here is an Emporia Gazette article reporting that a Lyon County jury ended a week-long Lyon County rape prosecution with acquittals on all counts. Anybody know who the defense attorney was?

New judge in 1st district

Posted on November 07, 2008
Here is the governor's press release announcing that she has appointed Michael Gibbens to be a district judge in Leavenworth and Atchison Counties.

Judicial elections results

Posted on November 05, 2008
Here is a Wichita Eagle article reporting on some of the contested judicial elections in Sedgwick County. Of note, J. Patrick Walters won over incumbent district judge Rebecca Pilshaw, who has had several disciplinary issues in the past few years. Incumbent districrt judge Warren Wilbert, who had a disciplinary matter of his own, appears to have narrowly defeated former district judge Karen Langston...

December 2008 KSC Docket

Posted on October 31, 2008
Here are the criminal cases on the KSC docket for December 2-4, 2008. These summaries are based on the issues listed in the briefs filed and may not very accurately or fully describe the actual issues in the cases. I recommend you review the briefs yourself if you would like more details...

16 apply to be Douglas County judge

Posted on October 24, 2008
16 Douglas County attorneys have applied to fill the vacancy created by Judge Jack Murphy's upcoming retirement. Here is an article from the LJ World on the subject. If you have any input regarding the candidates, be sure to contact the Nominating Commission as soon as possible.

Judicial elections around the corner

Posted on October 21, 2008
Here is a Wichita Eagle article reporting on a couple of contests for open judicial seats in Sedgwick County. Elections are just two weeks away!

Lesser verdict in Salina

Posted on October 21, 2008
Here is a Salina Journal article reporting that Julie McKenna won acquittal on felony charges in a Saline County drug prosecution.

Only eight apply for KSC

Posted on October 17, 2008
Here is a press release naming the eight persons that submitted their names for the upcoming vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court, including Court of Appeals Judges Thomas Malone and Steve Leben and District Judge Robert Fairchild. The list also includes former democratic AG candidate and current Securities Commissioner Chris Biggs and former state representative Ward Loyd...

Acquittal in Lawrence

Posted on October 17, 2008
Here is a Lawrence Journal-World article reporting that Michael Clarke won an acquittal on the primary charges in a Douglas County attempted aggravated criminal sodomy prosecution. The article is deliberately sketchy about the details, so I don't know much more...

Maybe speedy trial clock doesn?t always start at arraignment

Posted on October 15, 2008
As everyone knows, K.S.A. 22-3402 sets forth a defendant?s statutory right to a speedy trial in Kansas. The statute explicitly states that the speedy trial clock starts on the day of arraignment. However, I have recently argued that the speedy trial clock should start on the day the defendant was supposed to have his or her arraignment...

SCOTUS grants cert petition in Ventris

Posted on October 13, 2008
For those of you who haven't heard, SCOTUS granted the State?s petition for writ of certiorari in State v. Ventris, No. 94,002 (KSC Feb. 1, 2008). The KSC had reversed Mr. Ventris? convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary because the district court admitted impeachment testimony from a jailhouse informant who had been surreptitiously planted in his jail cell by the State (after Mr...

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