Tag: jury

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 …
Posted on January 8, 2019
Simultaneous Consideration No Longer Required for Kansas Homicide Instructions
State v. Sims, No. 115,038 (Kan. Nov. 30, 2018) Issue: The Kansas Supreme Court has previously held that courts must instruct juries to consider both greater and lesser offenses simultaneously in homicide cases. After years of criticism, should courts still require simultaneous instructions? Answer: No. Requiring …