Public Defense

Prior use/possession not relevant in possession case [NOT FINAL]

Posted on November 21, 2007
Shawn Minihan won in State v. Boggs, No. 96,921 (Kan. App. Nov. 21, 2007), getting a new trial in a McPherson County drug prosecution. This is great common-sense application of K.S.A. 60-455 to a situation we see too frequently--admission of prior possession convictions in subsequent possession prosecutions:Furthermore, the prior crime evidence of smoking marijuana was not so relevant as to show some material or logical connection between it and the charged crimes...

COA short list

Posted on November 16, 2007
Here is the press release announcing the three candidates for the COA opening stemming from expansion of the court. The three nominees are: Ward Loyd from Garden City (former chair of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee), Timothy Moore, from Morris, Laing in Wichita; and Melissa Taylor Standridge, who works as chambers clerk for U...

But why can't you instruct on the lesser?

Posted on November 09, 2007
I saw this article in the latest issue of NACDL's Champion magazine entitled "Defense Theory Instruction on Non-Included Lesser Offenses." It sort of struck a nerve because several of us have wondered about pursuing something along this line for non-included offenses in Kansas...

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