Category: Trials
Updated on September 25, 2023
The Perfect Chance to Re-Formulate an Imperfect Instruction
Karlie Ruder, Staff Editor
The Tenth Circuit clarifies when district courts must formulate and offer imperfect self-defense jury instructions.
Updated on October 24, 2021
The Criminal Restitution Statutes: Severing the Problematic Portions to Protect the Right to a Jury
Sarah Schmitz, Staff Editor State v. Arnette, No. 112,572, (Kan. Oct. 15, 2021). https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Opinions/112572_3.pdf?ext=.pdf Issue: Under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6604(b)(2) and Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3424(d)(1), criminal restitution shall be collected and enforced as a civil judgment …
Updated on August 25, 2021
Statutory Differences Not Mere Semantics in Jury Instructions
Author: Lexi Christopher, Staff Editor State v. Jones, No. 119,764, (Kan. August 6, 2021) Issue: Jones was convicted of four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5510. Were the jury instructions clearly …
Updated on March 22, 2021
With Court’s Leave, Prosecutors May Dismiss Grand Jury Indictments
State v. Bird, No. 120,816 (Kan. Ct. App., Feb. 19, 2021). Author: Andrew Tague, Staff Editor Issue: Under Kansas common law, a prosecutor may dismiss or reduce any charge against a criminal defendant. Kan. Stat. Ann. § 22-3015(b), …
Updated on January 26, 2021
Supplementing the Pattern Premeditation Jury Instruction: Necessary or Unnecessarily Confusing?
Author: Dahnika Short, Staff Editor State v. Stafford, No. 120,481 (Kan. Dec. 23, 2020) Issue: Was the addition of a Bernhardt instruction to the premeditation Pattern Instruction for Kansas (PIK) confusing and therefore legally inappropriate? Answer: No. There …
Updated on January 14, 2021
The Language Conduit Rule: Admitting Interpreters’ Hearsay Statements in Kansas
Author: Cayce Good, Staff Editor State v. Gutierrez-Fuentes, No. 120,339, (Kan. Ct. App., Nov. 25, 2020) Issue: Under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-460, statements made by a person other than a witness testifying in court are considered inadmissible …
Updated on July 25, 2020
Manifest Necessity Required to Declare Jury Deadlocked
Author: Emily Otte, Executive Comments Editor State v. Kornelson, No. 118,091 (Kan. July 2, 2020) Issue: Whether the goading standard or the manifest necessity standard applies to a double jeopardy claim when the defendant does not object or …
Updated on July 20, 2020
Kansas District Courts’ Authority to Interpret Ambiguous Jury Verdicts
Author: Ellen Bertels, Comments Editor State v. Brown, No. 115,817 (Kan. June 5, 2020). 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 …
Updated on June 2, 2020
Understanding Jury Trial Waivers
State v. Harris, No. 117,362 (Kan., Apr. 17, 2020). Issue: Is telling both your attorney, who has informed you of your rights, and the district court, which asks for a choice between a “bench trial and the case …
Updated on June 2, 2020
Probation Revocation Hearings Require Competency
State v. Gonzalez, No. 120,179 (Kan. Ct. App. Dec. 27, 2019). Issue: There is no statutory protection requiring a defendant be competent at a hearing to revoke his probation. Is competence constitutionally protected nonetheless at this stage? Answer: …
