Kansas Criminal Procedure Survey
What is it?
The Kansas Law Review Criminal Procedure Survey is a guide to changes in Kansas criminal procedure for legal practitioners and judges. The Survey reflects the evolution of Kansas case law and statutes throughout the school year to provide a snapshot of the current state of the law. It examines United States Supreme Court, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Kansas Supreme Court, and Kansas Court of Appeals precedent. It further notes applicable Kansas statutes and developments in the substantive law. We intend this Survey to serve as a useful reference for practitioners and judges.
This page is where new blog posts will be uploaded when there are relevant and novel decisions that we believe will be impactful in future litigation. The newest blog posts will be at the top and date back to the first of the calendar year. Once the calendar year is complete, the blog posts will be transferred to the yearly archives. In addition, all articles can be searched by topic.
The Verdict: The State Affirms its Precedent for Possession
Staff Editor Lauren Fallis
November 15, 2025
To convict a defendant of methamphetamine possession, must the State prove both that the defendant possessed the methamphetamine, and that the methamphetamine has the potential for abuse associated with a stimulant effect on the central nervous system?
Attempted Felony to Felony Murder: Establishing Res Gestae When the Underlying Charge is an Inchoate Crime
Staff Editor Alex Davis
November 8, 2025
When the predicate offense charged under felony murder was merely attempted aggravated robbery, does the res gestae element include only those events occurring during the attempt?
Unobscured Interpretation: No Traffic Stops for Illegible State Name
Staff Editor William Mitchelson
October 20, 2025
Does partial obstruction of the state name on a license plate violate Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-133 and, consequently, furnish reasonable suspicion to execute a traffic stop?
State v. Watie Highlights “Absurd” Outcomes Possible under Ervin
Staff Editor David Holt
October 14, 2025
May a defendant’s jail credits earned for time spent imprisoned be applied to sentences for two separate charges even if it effectively eliminates the consecutive sentence requirement?
Ineffective Counsel or Client’s Mistake: The Test of Effective Counsel
Staff Editor Amreen Sauji
October 2, 2025
Was effective counsel provided at the plea-bargaining phase?
A Tale of Two Standards: Self-Defense Testimony Cannot be Contradicted with Preliminary Evidence
Staff Editor Jeremey Beckner
September 27, 2025
May district courts rely on testimony from preliminary hearings to decide immunity under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-5231?
Fictional Victim, Real Error: Misstating Venue Law in Closing Arguments
Staff Editor Abby Brady
September 21, 2025
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 under another subsection?
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Claimed Blackout: All It Takes for a Voluntary Intoxication Instruction in Kansas
Staff Editor Ed Gramling
September 13, 2025
Is a jury instruction on the voluntary intoxication defense factually appropriate if a defendant only testifies that they consumed an intoxicating substance and were subsequently impaired?
To THC or Not to THC: What Meets the Definition of Marijuana?
Staff Editor Sadie McWilliams
September 4, 2025
Is proof of THC required to establish distribution of marijuana under the Kansas Criminal Code and the Kansas Uniform Controlled Substances Act?
749 Days and a Sentencing Error: A Kansas Case Study into Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6615(a)
Staff Editor Michael O'Keefe
Apr. 21, 2025
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 Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-6615(a)?
Delaying the . . . Evitable? Tenth Circuit Invalidates District Court’s Revocation of a Statutory-Maximum, Expired Sentence for Supervised Release Because of Six-Month Delay
Staff Editor Lane Barrette
Mar. 13, 2025
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-month delay between expiration and revocation?
Right Place, Wrong Argument: Section 10 of the Kansas Constitution is Not a Jurisdiction Provision
Staff Editor Davis Bax
Mar. 3, 2025
Does section 10 of the Kansas Constitution impact a court’s subject matter jurisdiction?
Innocent on Paper, Guilty at Heart Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies the Meaning of “Actual Innocence” for Wrongful Conviction Actions
Staff Editor Peyton Emler
Feb. 27, 2025
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 the conviction due to the misidentification of victims?
Anything Officers Say Can and Will Be Used Against Them: The Kansas Court of Appeals Finds Another Instance of a Detective Downplaying Miranda
Staff Editor Hadley Sayers
Feb. 16, 2025
Does a detective downplay the significance of the Miranda warning by saying that the warning is just part of their paperwork?
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
Staff Editor Michael Moore
Feb. 10, 2025
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 restitution?
A Limitation on Lawrence: Why Lawful Consent is not a Legal Defense to Child Pornography Possession in Kansas
Staff Editor Lucas Dorrell
Feb. 5, 2025
Does K.S.A. § 21-5510(a)—which criminalizes the creation and possession of child pornography—unconstitutionally criminalize “private sexual conduct” under the 14th Amendment Substantive Due Process Clause and Lawrence v. Texas, when the victim is above the age of consent but nonetheless a minor.
Two-For-One: Kansas Supreme Court Rules That Carjacker Can be Convicted of Aggravated Robbery of Car’s Passenger, Premeditation Can be Formed in Five Seconds
Staff Editor Thea Hack
Jan. 8, 2025
(1) In the context of a carjacking, can aggravated robbery of a vehicle be committed against a non-owner passenger of the vehicle? (2) Can premeditation be formed in five seconds?
Counting Lessons for Lawyers: A “Third or Subsequent” Conviction Requires a Preexisting First and Second Conviction for Drug-Crime Sentencing
Staff Editor Carson Schmidt
Jan. 5, 2025
When sentencing for drug crimes, does K.S.A. § 21-6805(f)(1) use the “inclusive rule” for “third or subsequent felony [drug] conviction[s]”—such that when a defendant with one prior conviction is concurrently convicted of two separate felony drug convictions, each crime scores the other as its second prior conviction and is itself designated as a third conviction?