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Local Governments Act When States and the Federal Government Refuse to Lower Penalties for Small Drug Offenses
Howard MahanComments editorHoward Mahan is a 3L at the University of Kansas. He earned his bachelor's degree in business management his MBA from Kansas Wesleyan University. Howard is interested in corporate, environmental, and renewable energy law. Outside of law school, Howard is an active…
No Retroactive Application: Probation Revocation and the 2019 Amendments
Author: Parker Bednasek, Staff EditorState v. Dominguez, No. 121,618, (Kan. Ct. App. Aug. 28, 2020) [pdf]Issue: Prior to 2019, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3716 (c)(1)(A)–(D)[1] required a court to impose both a jail sanction and a prison sanction before revoking a violator’s probation. In 2019, the…
Conflict or Cooperation? Mandatory Consecutive Sentencing Statutes Declared Harmonious
Author: Besty Donahue, Staff EditorState v. Vaughn, No. 121,340 (Kan. Ct. App., Aug. 14, 2020) [pdf].Issue: Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6606(d)[1] mandates that individuals convicted of felonies while on bond release for a prior felony shall serve the sentences for each felony consecutively, unless, as…
Qualified Immunity Undermines Civil Rights Claims, But the Supreme Court Won’t Hear It
Ellen BertelsComments editorEllen is a 3L at the University of Kansas School of Law. She earned degrees in Italian and English at the University of Kansas. Ellen is interested in public interest community lawyering, with a particular interest in voting rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy. In her spare…
A Welfare Check Gone Arrest: Attenuation Doctrine and the Fourth Amendment
Author: Dahnika Short, Staff EditorState v. Ellis, No. 120,046 (Kan. August 8, 2020) [pdf]Issue: The attenuation doctrine renders illegally obtained evidence admissible when the connection between the evidence and the unconstitutional police conduct is sufficiently remote or attenuated. During a…
District Courts May Impose Sentences Concurrently or Consecutively When the Sentencing Occurs for Multiple Cases on the Same Day
Author: Michael Raven, Comments EditorState v. Dunham, No. 121,081 (Kan. Ct. App., July 31, 2020) [pdf]Issue: Following his probation revocation, the trial court sentenced Jeremy Dunham for multiple cases on the same date. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6606 generally allows court discretion in imposing…
"Knife" Definition Declared Unconstitutionally Vague
Author: Emily Otte, Executive Comments EditorState v. Harris, No. 116,515, (Kan. July 17, 2020) [pdf]Issue: In Kansas, it is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a knife. A knife is defined in Kan. Stat. Ann. 2019 Supp. 21-6304 as “a dagger, dirk, switchblade, stiletto, straight-…
Manifest Necessity Required to Declare Jury Deadlocked
Author: Emily Otte, Executive Comments EditorState v. Kornelson, No. 118,091 (Kan. July 2, 2020) [pdf]Issue: Whether the goading standard or the manifest necessity standard applies to a double jeopardy claim when the defendant does not object or consent to a trial court’s sua sponte declaration of…
Kansas District Courts’ Authority to Interpret Ambiguous Jury Verdicts
Author: Ellen Bertels, Comments EditorState v. Brown, No. 115,817 (Kan. June 5, 2020) [pdf]Issue: Can a district court invoke the surplusage rule and discard part(s) of a jury verdict form when the form incorrectly lists the crimes for which the criminal defendant was charged?Answer: …
Where Mental Culpability Not Required, Voluntariness Still Relevant to the Actus Reus Requirement
Author: Shelby Sternberg, Comments EditorState v. Dinkel, No. 113,705 (Kan., June 12, 2020) [pdf]Issue: K.S.A. 21-5503(a)(3) has no requirement for mental culpability for rape when it involves sexual intercourse with a child under 14, which is unique from every other section. However, K…