Obstruction cannot occur until predicate offense completed

Caroline M. Zuschek won in State v. Jenkins, No. 122,800 (Kan. App. October 1, 2021) (unpublished), obtaining reversal of a Jackson County obstruction conviction. The state charged Ms. Jenkins with obstructing apprehension or prosecution of a crime for hiding in her boyfriend in her home when sheriff's officers came to arrest him for a probation violation warrant and lying to officers. Specifically, the state charged Ms. Jackson  with "knowingly harboring, concealing or aiding any person who . . . [h]as committed or who has been charged with committing a felony or misdemeanor under the laws of this state.".At a bench trial on stipulated facts, the district court concluded that the evidence did not support the obstruction charge because a probation violation warrant is not the same as having committed or being charged with a crime. But the district court found that, in a separate case, the state had separately charged Ms. Jackson's boyfriend with interference for hiding in Ms. Jackson's house to avoid arrest. The district court held that Ms. Jackson's actions constituted obstruction as it related to that predicate offense.  

The COA noted the differences between the offenses of obstruction and the doctrine of aiding and abetting:

To be guilty of obstruction . . . a defendant must harbor, conceal, or aid a person who has already committed a crime. In other words, the predicate crime of the other person must have been completed at the time the defendant's obstruction occurs. 

. . . .

We need not delve into the historical foundations for the crimes of aiding a felon or obstruction. Basically, they criminalize as a distinct offense helping someone who has already committed a crime to evade capture. By contrast, under the statutory principles of criminal liability in Kansas, if one person aids or assists another person who is in the process of committing a crime, the person rendering the aid or assistance is guilty of that crime. 

. . . .

Duble's interference with the law enforcement officers looking to take him into custody for the probation violation continued throughout the time he hid in Jenkins' house and was ongoing when Jenkins told the officers he was not there. In short, Duble's crime had not been completed at the time Jenkins misled the officers. Jenkins, therefore, could not be guilty of obstruction in violation of K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 21-5913 on the stipulated evidence and the charge as the district court revised it.

As a result, the COA reversed the conviction, vacated the sentence, and entered a judgement of acquittal.

[Update: the state did not file a PR and the mandate issued on November 9, 2021.]