Public Defense

Free Immigration Law CLE

Posted on August 19, 2008
For those of you who don't read the Kansas Federal Defender blog (you should, btw), there will be a free immigration/criminal law CLE in KCMO on September 18, 2008. The list of speakers is quite impressive. Here is the information about the CLE and how to sign up...

Flashing lights mean stop [NOT FINAL]

Posted on August 18, 2008
Lydia Krebs won in State v. Mollett, No. 97,999 (Kan. App. Aug. 15, 2008), reversing a Sedgwick County burglary conviction and remanding for new trial. The COA majority concluded that by turning on lights, officers seized Mr. Mollett:Relying on our Supreme Court's decisions in Morris and Greever, we find that Mollett's initial encounter with Sergeant Espinoza was not voluntary, but occurred under a show of authority...

Acquittal on agg battery

Posted on August 14, 2008
Here is a Hutch News article reporting that Sam Kepfield won an acquittal in a Reno County aggravated battery prosecution. The jury convicted of theft, but apparently didn't find the state's case persuasive on the person felony charged.

Not guilty in ten minutes

Posted on August 14, 2008
Kip Elliot won an acquittal last week in State v. Sanders, ending a Shawnee County drug and trafficking prosecution. Kip said the jury was out about ten minutes. Short and sweet.Haven't heard much about verdicts lately from the field. Keep us up to date so we can keep everyone else up to date!

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If you complete it, it's not an attempt [NOT FINAL]

Posted on August 13, 2008
Carl Folsom won in State v. Gonzales, No. 97,572 (Kan. App. Aug. 8, 2008), reversing a Finney County attempted aggravated sexual battery conviction. The COA agreed that the record contained no evidence that the crime was not completed, which is an element of attempt...

Nice article about DNA testing

Posted on August 07, 2008
Here is a Lawrence Journal-World article reporting on a case where the KU Defender Project in conjunction with the Innocence Project, is getting some DNA testing in a decades-old rape case.

Judicial election results

Posted on August 06, 2008
Here is a Kansas City Star article reporting that incumbent district judge Muriel Harris lost her primary race to assistant district attorney Constance Alvey.Here is a Wichita Eagle article reporting that incumbent district judge Rebecca Pilshaw narrowly won her primary contest against Ross Alexander...

Prosecutorial election results

Posted on August 06, 2008
Several sitting prosecutors lost primary elections last night. Here is a Topeka Capital-Journal article reporting on a high profile race here in Shawnee County, where Eric Rucker easily defeated incumbent D.A. Robert Hecht. Rucker will face Chad Taylor in the general election...

You can pick your judge . . .

Posted on August 05, 2008
In a couple of related articles, What the Judge Ate For Breakfast is soliciting comments on views about elected vs. selected judges here. And this is a Hutch News/AP article reporting that the Commission on Judicial Performance will be issuing its report on appellate and district judges subject to retention elections this cycle on August 29...

Applicants for district judge in Johnson County

Posted on August 04, 2008
Here is the court's press release naming the sixteen applicants for district judge in Johnson County. The nominating commission gets to work on these applicants on August 11, 2008, so if you have comments, be sure to submit them asap. Here is coverage of the nomination process in the Olathe News.

But you didn't charge the big screen! [NOT FINAL]

Posted on August 02, 2008
Washburn student intern Julia Mowers and I won in State v. Wilson, No. 98,154 (Kan. App. Aug. 1, 2008) (unpublished), getting a new trial in a Wyandotte County felony theft prosecution. Basically, client was charged with stealing several items from a house, including two small TVs...

Conflict office in Wichita

Posted on July 31, 2008
Here is a short What the Judge Ate For Breakfast article reporting on the opening of a new conflict office in Wichita.

New judge in Wyandotte County

Posted on July 30, 2008
Here is a Topeka Capital-Journal article reporting that the governor appointed Wes Griffin to be a district judge in Wyandotte County to finish the term of retiring Judge Sieve.

Nice article about Defender Project

Posted on July 25, 2008
Thanks to Shawn Minihan for tipping me on this nice lawrence.com article on the KU Defender Project, including memories of Jana Mackey, a Defender Project student that was killed earlier this month.

Judges blogging?

Posted on July 25, 2008
As we recently noted here, Judge Pilshaw recently entered the blogosphere with this initial entry reporting on a sentencing case she had completed a day or two before. When I talked about this with most of my colleagues, almost uniformly the first reaction was "Can a judge do that?"An anonymous response asked the same question on Judge Pilshaw's blog and her response was:I am perfectly free to discuss this case...

New judge and new short list in Topeka

Posted on July 25, 2008
Here is the Topeka Capital-Journal article reporting that the governor appointed David Debenham to fill an upcoming vacancy on the district court. That appointment prompted the Shawnee County Nominating Commission to produce a new short list to fill a second upcoming vacancy...

Lost in Translation

Posted on July 23, 2008
There is an interesting article in the Summer 2008 edition of the Criminal Justice Magazine (Vol. 23/ No. 2) that raises some important points on Miranda warnings. The article discusses ?Myths, Methods, and Model Solutions? to some common Miranda problems...

Judge Pilshaw Blogs

Posted on July 21, 2008
Judge Pilshaw has started a blog so she can help voters get to know who she is as a person and a judge. Here is the link.

September 2008 KSC docket

Posted on July 21, 2008
Here are the criminal cases on the KSC docket for September 2-5. 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...

Judges rated in Sedgwick County

Posted on July 20, 2008
Here is the long awaited Wichita Eagle/Wichita Bar Association survey lawyers regarding judges, including several judges running in contested elections this year. Judge Pilshaw again rated low, as did Judge Brooks and Judge Wilbert.

County attorney races

Posted on July 18, 2008
Here is a Hutch News article reporting on several county attorney races around the state, including PD Lynn Koehn running for Haskell County Attorney. If you have any other info about interesting prosecutorial races, please comment--especially if they involve criminal defense attorneys.

New blog on juvenile right to a jury trial

Posted on July 16, 2008
Paul Shipp, who recently won in In re L.M., (as blogged about here) establishing the right to a jury trial for juvenile defendants in Kansas, has apparently gotten a lot of questions and decided to start a blog to help foster discussion. Give it a look...

Don't argue with yourself [NOT FINAL]

Posted on July 12, 2008
Monique K. Centeno, Lawrence W. Williamson, Jr., and Sean Shores won in State v. Toney, No. 97,326 (Kan App. July 11, 2008), remanding for a new hearing on Mr. Toney's motion to withdraw his plea in a Sedgwick County burglary prosecution. The claim on appeal was that Mr...

Fifteen apply for Dowd's seat

Posted on July 12, 2008
Here is a Topeka Captial-Journal article reporting that fifteen applied for the district judge vacancy to be created by Judge Dowd's upcoming retirement. The list includes the attorneys who were on the most recent short list blogged about here. If you have comments that would be useful to the nominating commission, get them in soon...

Limits on candor to court

Posted on July 07, 2008
Patrick Dunn won in State v. Hemphill, Nos. 95,209 and 95,210 (Kan. July 3, 2008). The KSC reversed the district court's denial of Hemphill's motions to appeal out of time (one for his sentence and one for his motion to withdraw his plea). The KSC ordered a new plea withdrawal hearing under Kargus v...

Inconsistent verdicts?

Posted on July 07, 2008
I noted that the Maryland Court of Appeals recently abandoned its long-standing common law precedent allowing inconsistent verdicts in criminal cases. In Price v. State, the Maryland high court acknowledged that many other jurisdictions permit such verdicts and that it had long allowed such verdicts...

Out with the new, in with the old

Posted on July 07, 2008
I guess I knew that when somebody takes the Colorado Bar Exam, it's probably not to enhance her resume at the ADO.Sarah Morrison left the ADO late last month to move to Colorado to join a small firm there. A lot of Sarah's family is in the Denver area, so it really wasn't a big surprise...

Murder conviction reversed for failure to give lesser

Posted on July 03, 2008
Janine Cox won in State v. Scaife, No. 97,183 (Kan. July 3, 2008), getting a new trial in a Wyandotte County premeditated murder case (the KSC affirmed convictions for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated robbery). The prosecution was a "combined" premeditated/felony murder case...

Involuntary statements

Posted on July 03, 2008
Pantaleon Florez, Jr. won in State v. Karin Morton, No. 97,848 (Kan. July 3, 2008), affirming Judge James Smith's suppression of statements in a Franklin County making a false information prosecution. The KSC affirmed the COA's holding that Ms. Morton was not in custody and therefore there was no Miranda violation...

District judge accused of sexual misconduct

Posted on July 02, 2008
Here is a Lawrence Journal-World article reporting that District Judge Frederick Stewart, from Leavenworth County is facing disciplinary charges stemming from alleged sexual misconduct with a member of his staff.

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