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Correcting Clear Error: Kansas Supreme Court Says That Unpreserved Jury-Instruction Issues Can No Longer Dodge the Plain Text of K.S.A. § 22-3414(3)
State v. Waldschmidt, No. 123,631 (Kan. Apr. 12, 2024) [pdf].Author: Naomi Franklin, Staff EditorIssue: Can an unpreserved jury-instruction issue that is not clearly erroneous dodge Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3414(3) and become part of cumulative-error analysis?Answer: No. An unpreserved jury-…
A Window to the Public Eye: Tenth Circuit Holds Using a Pole Camera Does Not Violate the Fourth Amendment If It Captures Activities Performed in Public View
United States v. Hay, 95 F.4th 1304 (10th Cir. 2024). Author: Alex Falk, Staff Editor Issue: “Does the Fourth Amendment permit the government to surveil a home for months on end without a warrant?” Answer: Yes. Surveillance does not violate the Fourth Amendment as long as it…
Breaking the Age Limit: Compensating Juveniles for Wrongful Incarceration in Kansas
Author: Drew Elizabeth Davis, Comment EditorIntroIn 2018, the Kansas Legislature enacted Section 60-5004 of the Kansas Statutes, which establishes “civil action[s] for persons who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.”[1] The statute provides that if an individual “was convicted of a felony…
RICO, We Have a Problem: Kansas Court of Appeals Finds That Juvenile Adjudications Are Included in the Definition of “Racketeering Activity” Under the Kansas RICO Act.
State v. Dixon, No. 125,992 WL 1335680 (Kan. Mar. 29, 2024) [pdf]Author: Claire Burns, Staff EditorIssue: Under the Kansas Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“Kansas RICO Act”), does the definition of "racketeering activity" include juvenile adjudications?Answer: Yes, the plain…
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…