Lost in Translation? Interpreters’ Out-of-Court Statements Should Be Admissible Under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-460(d)(1)
By: Hayley Koontz, Comment EditorI. IntroductionMaria is in a hospital because she lost consciousness after her ex-boyfriend broke into her home and hit her repeatedly. Maria provides an account of her experience to a social worker. Maria speaks only Spanish, and the social worker…
Lucky Number 13: Why Courts have Discretion to Allow Debtors to Cure Chapter 13 Arrearages after Five Years
By: Richard Weber, Comment EditorI. Intro“I, declare…bankruptcy!”[1] In the television show The Office, paper supplies manager Michael Scott believes all that is necessary to declare bankruptcy is to verbally “declare” bankruptcy.[2] Fortunately, one of his co-workers explains that…
Resolving Ambiguity: Kansas Supreme Court Says “Lesser Crime” in Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5109(b)(2) Means “a Crime with a Lesser Penalty”
State v. Martin, No. 124,607, 2024 WL 1122666 (Kan. Mar. 15, 2024) [pdf] Author: Jack Atherton, Staff EditorIssue: Is possession of methamphetamine a “lesser included crime” of no drug-tax stamp under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5109(b)(2)?Answer: No. Possession of methamphetamine…
(Unallocated) Space, the Final Frontier: New Interpretations of What Constitutes Possession of Child Pornography
State v. Ballantyne, No. 125,064, 2024 WL 388161 (Kan. Ct. App. Feb. 2, 2024) [pdf].Author: Jay Shank, Staff EditorIssue: Does child pornography stored within a computer’s unallocated space constitute possession of child pornography?Answer: No. Because computers automatically store images from…
G.O.[ing] Away from McCarther: Kansas’s Reliability Standard as a Test for the Voluntariness of Confessions is Inapposite to the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.
State v. G.O., No. 124,676, 2024 Kan. LEXIS 23 (Kan. Mar. 1, 2024) [pdf]Author: Clayton Anderson, Staff EditorIssue: Does Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-460(f)(2)(B)’s hearsay exception—or its reliability standard—apply when courts decide whether a defendant’s confession to police was involuntary?…
No Slack for Flack: Context, Clarity, and Pleading The 5th through an Aggregate of Statements in Kansas
State v. Flack, No. 115,964, 2024 Kan. LEXIS 6 (Jan. 19, 2024) [pdf].Ben Murphy, Staff EditorIssue: Can a defendant invoke his right to remain silent by repeating “take me to jail” and similar statements?Answer: No. Contingent upon the context surrounding the statement, the Fifth Amendment of…
What’s Your Motive: Kansas Court of Appeals Extends Relevant Impeachment Evidence to a Witness’s Contemplated Civil Action Against a Criminal Defendant
State v. O’Brien, No. 124,524, 2024 WL 62815 (Kan. Ct. App. Jan. 5, 2024) [pdf]Gabby Phillips, Staff EditorIssue: Is a witness’s contemplation of filing a lawsuit against the defendant relevant impeachment evidence that a defendant may explore on cross-examination?Answer: Yes. A witness’s…
A Continuance by Any Other Name: Kansas Court of Appeals Finds that Trial, not Dismissal with Prejudice, is Appropriate Remedy for State’s Abuse of Process
State v. Peterson, No. 125,504 (Kan. App. Dec. 29, 2023) [pdf]Joshua Lollar, Staff EditorIssue: Did the district court abuse its discretion when it dismissed the State’s case with prejudice to sanction the prosecutor for abuse of process?Answer: Yes. The district court abused its discretion…
Timing is Everything: When is it Proper to Invoke the Right to Post-Evidentiary Breath Test Counsel?
State v. Kerrigan, No. 123,862 WL 7931255 (Kan. Nov. 17, 2023) [pdf].Claire Burns, Staff EditorIssue: Can a person properly invoke the statutory right to post-evidentiary breath-test counsel before the administration of the test under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-1001(c)(1) (2019)?Answer: No, the plain…
Beyond Age Limits: Parental Discipline as a Defense for Parents of Majority Aged Children
State v. Andazola, No. 125,166, 2023 WL 7405069 (Kan. Ct. App. Nov. 9, 2023) [pdf].Jack Atherton, Staff EditorIssue: Is the parental-discipline defense to a domestic-battery charge available when the child is 18 years old, living at home, and attending high school?Answer: Yes. Given…