Justia Kansas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Defendant was convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol and speeding. Defendant appealed both convictions and sought a trial de novo in district court, arguing that the evidence was the product of an illegal traffic stop. Specifically, Defendant argued that the officer who initiated the traffic stop did not have reasonable suspicion for the stop because the officer was mistaken about the applicable speed limit where a traffic sign normally posting the limit had been knocked to the ground. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the officer made a mistake of fact about the speed limit, but the mistake was objectively reasonable. View "City of Atwood v. Pianalto" on Justia Law

The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) arrested an indigent criminal offender. The offender sustained injuries during the arrest and was driven to the emergency room at Kansas University Medical Center, where he received treatment. The next day, the offender was transported to the Wyandotte County Jail, where he awaited trial on felony charges. The University of Kansas Hospital Authority demanded payment from both the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas, City Kansas (County) and KHP. When both entities refused to pay for the offender’s expenses, the Hospital Authority filed suit against both the County and KHP. The district court and Court of Appeals concluded that KHP was liable for the offender’s medical expenses. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the offender was under arrest and in KHP’s custody at the time he was taken to the hospital for treatment, and, based on that custody, KHP was liable for the offender’s reasonable medical expenses. View "Univ. of Kan. Hosp. Auth. v. Bd. of County Comm'rs" on Justia Law

Defendant received two consecutive twelve-month probation terms. As a result of a violation that occurred during the first twelve months, the district court revoked both of Defendant’s probation terms. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Earlier, the Supreme Court had effectively compelled the Court of Appeals to address the merits of Defendant’s appeal by granting a petition for review on the Court of Appeals’ dismissal of Defendant’s appeal and then summarily reversing and remanding the case. Here, the Supreme Court concluded that the Court of Appeals had it right in the first place. The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Court of Appeals and dismissed this appeal as moot because Defendant had already completed service of the prison terms underlying the consecutive probations. View "State v. Hilton" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for new trial based on the State’s failure to disclose a plea agreement with the codefendant, as the plea agreement would not have changed the course of the trial by making the codefendant available to testify at trial; and (2) the district court’s failure to give a second-degree murder jury instruction was not clearly erroneous. View "State v. Soto" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of capital murder based on his premeditated intentional killing of his ex-girlfriend and their one-year-old son. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress incriminating statements he made during two separate interrogations by law enforcement officers. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the interrogating officers refused to terminate the questioning when Defendant invoked his rights under Miranda v. Arizona; and (2) because the error was not harmless, the district court erred in denying the suppression of Defendant’s statements made after the Miranda violation. View "State v. Aguirre" on Justia Law

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of attempted indecent solicitation of a child. The district court sentenced Appellant to eighteen months’ probation, with an underlying ten-month prison term and lifetime postrelease supervision. Appellant appealed, contending that lifetime postrelease supervision was disproportionate as applied to him, constituting cruel and/or unusual punishment in violation Section 9 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and the Eighth Amendment to the federal Constitution. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Appellant abandoned his Eighth Amendment challenge on appeal for failure to adequately brief the issue; and (2) Appellant’s lifetime postrelease supervision term does not constitute cruel or unusual punishment under Section 9 of the Bill of Rights. View "State v. Funk" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and related offenses. On appeal, Defendant argued that the warrantless search of his cell phone conducted as a search incident to arrest violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the search of Defendant’s cell phone violated the Fourth Amendment because Defendant did not unequivocally, specifically, and freely give consent for the officer to search the text messages on his cell phone, and Defendant’s consensual responses were not free from duress or coercion; and (2) the unlawful search of Defendant’s cell phone was not harmless. View "State v. James" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted and sentenced for first-degree premeditated murder. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by (1) concluding that Defendant was competent to stand trial after an adequate competency hearing and by failing to sua sponte order a second competency evaluation; (2) determining that Defendant’s confession to the police was voluntary; (3) limiting the defense voir dire of potential jurors regarding mental illness and mental disability; (4) overruling Defendant’s claim of insufficient evidence to support the murder conviction; (5) declining to give a lesser included offense instruction on voluntary manslaughter; and (6) ordering Defendant to register as a violent offender under the Kansas Offender Registration Act. View "State v. Woods" on Justia Law

In 1996, Kodi Thomas was convicted of attempted rape and aggravated burglary. A civil jury later declared Thomas to be a sexually violent predator under the Kansas Sexually Violent Predator Act subject to civil commitment. The court of appeals affirmed. Thomas appealed, arguing that the district court erred by permitting the State’s experts to testify about hearsay statements contained within his treatment records and by erroneously instructing the jury on the State’s burden of proof. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Thomas failed to preserve the hearsay issue for appeal; and (2) the instructional error was harmless. View "In re Care & Treatment of Thomas" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree premeditated murder for killing his estranged wife. The district court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without parole for twenty-five years, ordered Defendant not to have any contact with the victim’s family, and imposed a restitution order requiring Defendant to pay attorney fees incurred by the victim’s mother in child in need of care (CINC) proceedings involving the couple’s children and a separate legal action finalizing her adoption of the children. Defendant appealed his sentence. The Supreme Court vacated the no-contact order and affirmed the restitution order, holding (1) in line with caselaw, the no-contact order should be vacated because it constituted an illegal sentence where it is a probation condition that cannot be imposed in conjunction with prison sentences; and (2) a sufficient causal link existed between Defendant’s unlawful conduct and the attorney fees for the CINC proceedings and adoption case, and the district court properly rejected the claim that any restitution plan was unworkable. View "State v. Alcala" on Justia Law