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Fictional Victim, Real Error: Misstating Venue Law in Closing Arguments
State v. Hartman, No. 127, 354, 2025 WL 2552314, (Kan. Ct. App. Sept. 5, 2025) Staff Editor Abby Brady September 21, 2025 Issue: Is it harmless error for a prosecutor to cite the wrong subsection of K.S.A 22-2619 to establish venue in closing arguments when venue could be established…
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Claimed Blackout: All It Takes for a Voluntary Intoxication Instruction in Kansas
State v. Bobian, No. 127,139, 2025 WL 2426586 (Kan. August 22, 2025). Staff Editor Ed Gramling September 13, 2025 Issue: Is a jury instruction on the voluntary intoxication defense factually appropriate if a defendant only testifies that they consumed an intoxicating substance and were…
To THC or Not to THC: What Meets the Definition of Marijuana?
State v. Brown, No. 126,279, 2025 WL 2180381 (Kan. Aug. 1, 2025) Staff Editor Sadie McWilliams September 4, 2025 Issue: Is proof of THC required to establish distribution of marijuana under the Kansas Criminal Code and the Kansas Uniform Controlled Substances Act?[1] Answer: No. THC…
749 Days and a Sentencing Error: A Kansas Case Study into Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6615(a)
State v. Ervin, No. 126,747, 2025 WL 1088041 (Kan. Apr. 11, 2025). Author: Michael O’Keefe, Staff Editor Issue: Did the district court err in calculating Ervin’s jail-time credit by failing to award credit for all days he was incarcerated pending disposition of his case, as required by…
Delaying the . . . Evitable? Tenth Circuit Invalidates District Court’s Revocation of a Statutory-Maximum, Expired Sentence for Supervised Release Because of Six-Month Delay
United States v. Gulley, No. 24-3078, 2025 WL 747686 (10th Cir. Mar. 10, 2025) [pdf] Author: Lane Barrette, Staff Editor Issue: Is 18 U.S.C. § 3583(i) a jurisdictional provision? If so, is it “reasonably necessary” to enforce conditions of an expired term of supervision during a six…
Right Place, Wrong Argument: Section 10 of the Kansas Constitution is Not a Jurisdiction Provision
State v. Barnes, No. 125,739, 2025 WL 572021 (Kan. Feb. 21, 2025) [pdf]Author: Davis Bax, Staff EditorIssue: Does section 10 of the Kansas Constitution impact a court’s subject matter jurisdiction?Answer: No.Facts: In a prior criminal case in Johnson County, Clyde James Barnes Jr. was…
Innocent on Paper, Guilty at Heart Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning of “Actual Innocence” for Wrongful Conviction Actions
In re Wrongful Conviction of Warsame, No. 126,950, 2025 WL 496667 (Kan. Feb. 14, 2025) [pdf].Author: Peyton Emler, Staff EditorIssue: Can a claimant receive wrongful conviction compensation if they are found guilty of the statutory elements of the charged crime, but where the state dismisses…
Anything Officers Say Can and Will Be Used Against Them: The Kansas Court of Appeals Finds Another Instance of a Detective Downplaying Miranda
State v. Reynolds, No. 126,940, 2025 WL 438959 (Kan. Ct. App. Feb. 7, 2025) [pdf]. Author: Hadley Sayers, Staff Editor Issue: Does a detective downplay the significance of the Miranda warning by saying that the warning is just part of their paperwork? Answer: Yes. Facts:…
How Would You Like to Pay? Kansas Court of Appeals Holds That a Defendant Cannot Be Ordered to Use a Specific Asset to Pay Restitution
Kansas v. Smith, No. 126,038, 2025 WL 350217 (Kan. Ct. App. Jan. 31, 2025) [pdf]. Author: Michael Moore, Staff Editor Issue: Can a criminal defendant be ordered to assign their unrealized inheritance or change the beneficiary on their life insurance policy to their victim as part of their…
A Limitation on Lawrence: Why Lawful Consent is not a Legal Defense to Child Pornography Possession in Kansas
State v. Sanders, No. 126,406, 2025 WL 63422 (Kan. App. 2025) [pdf].Author: Lucas Dorrell, Staff Editor Issue: Does K.S.A. § 21-5510(a)—which criminalizes the creation and possession of child pornography—unconstitutionally criminalize “private sexual conduct”[1] under the 14th…