Category: Investigation

(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). Author: Jay Shank, Staff Editor Issue: Does child pornography stored within a computer’s unallocated space constitute possession of child pornography? Answer: No. Because computers …

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) Author: Clayton Anderson, Staff Editor Issue:  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 …

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). Ben Murphy, Staff Editor Issue: Can a defendant invoke his right to remain silent by repeating “take me to jail” and similar statements? Answer: No.  Contingent …

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). Claire Burns, Staff Editor Issue: Can a person properly invoke the statutory right to post-evidentiary breath-test counsel before the administration of the test under Kan. Stat. Ann. …

I take back what I said: Kansas Court of Appeals says recanted testimony constitutes excusable neglect to withdraw plea

Gabby Phillips, Staff Editor
The Kansas Court of Appeals says recanted testimony constitutes excusable neglect to withdraw plea.

A Step in the Right Direction: The District of Kansas says the Kansas Two-Step violates the 4th Amendment.

Jack Roberts, Staff Editor
The District of Kansas says the Kansas Two-Step violates motorists’ 4th Amendment rights.

“Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace”: Appellate Advocacy Basics in the World of Criminal Procedure

Defendant’s constitutional claims abandoned because he “failed to adequately brief” the issues.

Two Paths for Calculating Criminal History: Path of Admission Relieves State from Producing Additional Evidence

Lexi Christopher, Staff Editor State v. Corby, No. 122,584 (Kan. Jan. 21, 2022) Issue: A presentence investigation report (PSI) listed two prior convictions under K.S.A. § 8-1568.  However, the PSI did not specify under which subsection the violations …

Consent to Search Can be Given by Gestures, Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies

Author: Andrew Tague, Staff Editor State v. Daino, No. 120,824, (Kan. Nov. 13, 2020) Issue: The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and section 15 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights permit warrantless searches of an individual’s …

A Welfare Check Gone Arrest: Attenuation Doctrine and the Fourth Amendment

Author: Dahnika Short, Staff Editor State v. Ellis, No. 120,046 (Kan. August 8, 2020) Issue: The attenuation doctrine renders illegally obtained evidence admissible when the connection between the evidence and the unconstitutional police conduct is sufficiently remote or …