Monday, January 30, 2017

March 2017 Special KSC Docket (Winfield)

Here is the criminal case on the KSC docket for March 30, 2017, held in Winfield, Kansas. This is a special evening setting of the KSC at Southwestern College.

These summaries are based on the issues listed in the briefs filed and may not very accurately or fully describe the actual issues in the cases. I recommend you review the briefs yourself if you would like more details. Don't forget, arguments are streamed live over the internet at the appellate court website and archived (here) if you would like to listen in to any of these arguments.

[Update: here are some photos from the traveling docket.]

March 30--Thursday--p.m.

State v. Marcus Gray, No. 112,035 (Harvey)
Direct appeal (petition for review); Possession/interference with law enforcement
Randall L. Hodgkinson
  • Improper search under statute prohibiting race-based policing

Friday, January 13, 2017

Amended statute regarding intellectual disability requires remand for new hearing

Joanna Labastida and Randall L. Hodgkinson won in State v. Corbin, No. 113,585 (Kan. December 23, 2016), obtaining a new sentencing hearing in a Saline County first-degree murder prosecution. Mr. Corbin had pleaded no contest in the case, but then requested that the district court determine if he was a person with "intellectual disability" under K.S.A. 21-6622(b). If a person falls into this definition, Kansas statute allows for a mitigated sentence.

The district court refused and imposed a hard 25 sentence. After sentencing, but during the appeal, the legislature amended the definition of "intellectual disability." The KSC held that the district court should consider the amended definition:

"'[1] Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning' may be established by performance which is two or more standard deviations from the mean score on a standardized intelligence test specified by the secretary. Such standardized intelligence test shall take into account the standard error of measurement, [2] and subaverage general intellectual functioning may be established by means in addition to standardized intellectual testing. The amendments made to this subsection by this act shall be construed and applied retroactively." (Emphasis added.) L. 2016, ch. 108, sec. 1.

The state did not dispute that the amended defintion applied retroactively, but it argued that it would not make any difference. The KSC was not so sure:

Indeed, outside of the court's reference to some statements Corbin made regarding actions he might take once he was in the Department of Corrections, it exclusively relied upon the results of these two standardized intelligence tests.

The State acknowledges that the statutory amendments permit the determination of intellectual disability to be established by means in addition to standardized intellectual testing and points out that Corbin presented evidence in addition to a mean score on such tests. For example, the two reports also included information about Corbin's psychiatric and social history and the interviewing doctors' observations. But just as the original statute led the district court to focus on the results of the standardized intelligence tests, it may also have caused Corbin to feel prohibited from submitting evidence of additional means in order to establish his intellectual disability—means now permitted under the new definition.

Given our assumption that the 2016 amendments to K.S.A. 76-12b01 apply retroactively, then we must remand under these circumstances.

[Update: on remand, the district court found that Mr. Corbin was not "intellectually disabled" under the amended statute and the KSC affirmed that finding in State v. Corbin, No. 119,665 (Kan. April 17, 2020).]

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

March 2017 KSC Docket

Here are the criminal cases on the KSC docket for March 13-16, 2017. These summaries are based on the issues listed in the briefs filed and may not very accurately or fully describe the actual issues in the cases. I recommend you review the briefs yourself if you would like more details. Don't forget, arguments are streamed live at the appellate court website and archived (here) if you would like to watch any of these arguments.

March 13--Monday--a.m.

State v. Ami Simmons, No. 108,885 (Saline)
Sentencing appeal (petition for review)
Rick Kittel
[Affirmed; Stegall; December 1, 2017]
  • Retroactive application of KORA unconstitutional for nonsex offenders
State v. Matthew Wood, No. 111,243 (Sedgwick)
Motion to vacate KORA registration (petition for review)
Michael P. Whalen
[Affirmed; Stegall; May 5, 2017]
  • Retroactive application of KORA unconstitutional
State v. Steven Meredith, No. 110,520 (Riley)
Motion to clarify KORA registration status (petition for review)
Kai Tate Mann
[Affirmed; Stegall; August 4, 2017]
  • Retroactive application of KORA unconstitutional for nonsex offenders
State v. Sheena Thomas, No. 109,951 (Sedgwick)
Direct appeal (petition for review); Aggravated battery
Samuel Schirer
[Affirmed; Stegall; April 13, 2018]
  • Improper exclusion of victim's civil lawsuit
  • Prosecutorial error
  • Failure to make finding to require KORA registration
State v. Jason Reese, No. 110,021 (Sedgwick)
Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence (petition for review)
Michael P. Whalen
[Affirmed; Stegall; May 5, 2017
  • Retroactive application of KORA unconstitutional for nonsex offenders

March 14--Tuesday--a.m.

State v. Darnell Huey, No. 109,690 (Shawnee)
Sentencing appeal (petition for review)
Samuel Schirer
[Affirmed; Biles; August 11, 2017]
  • Finding requiring KORA registration violates Apprendi
State v. Christopher Marinelli, No. 111,227 (Riley)
Sentencing appeal (petition for review)
Kimberly Streit Vogelsberg
[Affirmed; Biles; April 13, 2018]
  • Insufficient finding requiring KORA registration
State v. Jason Hachmeister, No. 112,260 (Shawnee)
Direct appeal (petition for review); Sexual exploitation of a child
Gerald E. Wells
[Affirmed; Biles; June 16, 2017]
  • Deficient search warrant
  • Finding requiring KORA registration violates Apprendi
State v. Phoebe Shaylor, No. 108,103 (Reno)
Direct appeal (petition for review); Failure to register as drug offender
Christina M. Kerls
[Affirmed; Biles; August 18, 2017]
  • Retroactive application of KORA unconstitutional for nonsex offenders

March 15--Wednesday--a.m.

State v. Martin Miller, No. 114,373 (Douglas)
Direct appeal; Premeditated first-degree murder
Richard Ney
[Affirmed; per curiam; October 5, 2018]
  • Pretrial publicity denied fair trial
  • Failure to excuse juror for cause
  • Failure to bifurcate trial
  • Failure to disqualify prosecutor's office
  • Failure to grant mistrial based on improper judicial comments
  • Improper rebuttal evidence
  • Improper admission of irrelevant evidence
  • Discovery violations re: prior trial testimony
State v. Corey Pollard, No. 114,005 (Sedgwick)
Direct appeal; First-degree felony murder
Michael P. Whalen
[Affirmed; Beier; July 21, 2017]
  • Improper admission of gang affiliation evidence
  • Prosecutorial error
  • Improper transmission of pro se discovery motion to defense counsel