Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s summary dismissal of Appellant’s Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-1507 motion asserting that the 2006 amendments to the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KORA) constituted punishment under the Ex Post Facto Clause so that they could not be retroactively applied to him. The district court denied the motion on the grounds that caselaw has established that the KORA registration requirement does not impose punishment. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s decision, albeit for a different reason, holding that Appellant failed to show manifest injustice. View "Hayes v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the court of appeals and district court and vacated Defendant’s convictions, holding that this court could not determine from the record whether the district judge examined any unreasonable “use” of race in the traffic stop of Defendant, which is the conduct prohibited by Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-4609, as opposed to examining whether Defendant’s race was the ultimate “cause” of the traffic stop.The district judge denied Defendant’s motion to suppress. Before the Supreme Court, Defendant argued that a law enforcement officer violated section 22-4609, the biased-police policing statute, in stopping him for a traffic infraction and that this violation required suppression of the evidence obtained during the traffic stop under Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-3216(1). The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the lower courts, holding that it could not be determined from the record whether the district court applied the correct test to Defendant’s argument that a statutory violation created a possible suppression remedy. View "State v. Gray" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of a panel of the court of appeals affirming Defendant’s conviction for failure to register as an offender under the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KORA), Kan. Stat. Ann. 22-4901 et seq. The court held (1) the charging document was sufficient to charge a KORA registration violation even where it failed to allege that Defendant resided in Kingman County; and (2) Defendant could not establish clear error requiring reversal regarding his argument that the jury instructions, which similarly failed to require the jury to find Defendant resided in Kingman County, permitted the jury to convict him without finding each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. View "State v. Sayler" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of a panel of the court of appeals affirming Defendant’s two convictions and sentences for failure to register as require by the Kansas Offender Registration Act. The court held (1) Defendant’s argument that the registration requirements are ex post facto punishment for a drug offense Defendant committed before registration was required for such offenses was foreclosed by State v. Shaylor, 400 P.3d 177 (Kan. 2017); and (2) the complaint initiating one of the convictions was sufficient even where it failed to allege Defendant resided in the county where the State alleged he failed to register. View "State v. Scuderi" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions arising from his participation in two interconnected felony murders that were consolidated for trial. The two homicides were tied together by Defendant’s involvement, drug-related violence, and shared evidence. The court held (1) the trial court did not err in refusing to suppress Defendant’s statements to police because the warnings given to Defendant, in their totality, reasonably conveyed Defendant’s right to counsel as required by Miranda; (2) the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant’s convictions; and (3) the instructions given to the jury were not clearly erroneous. View "State v. Brown" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions on one count of identity theft, holding that Defendant’s prosecution was preempted by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(5). The convictions arose from Defendant’s act of using another person’s Social Security number to obtain employment. On appeal, Defendant argued that this identity theft prosecution against him was preempted by IRCA. The Supreme Court agreed and held that the State’s identity theft prosecution of Defendant based on the use of another person’s Social Security number to establish Defendant’s employment eligibility was expressly preempted by IRCA. View "State v. Garcia" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions on two count of identity theft, holding that Defendant’s prosecution was preempted by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(5). The convictions arose from Defendant’s act of using another person’s Social Security number to obtain employment. In reversing Defendant’s convictions, the Supreme Court relied on State v. Garcia, __ P.3d __ (this day decided), which held that prosecutions such as the one in this case are expressly preempted by IRCA, and held that Defendant’s prosecution based on use of a Social Security number belonging to another person to obtain employment was expressly preempted by IRCA. View "State v. Ochoa-Lara" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions on one count of identity theft and two counts of making a false information for using another person’s Social Security number to obtain restaurant employment, holding that Defendant’s prosecution based on his use of a Social Security number belonging to another person for employment was expressly preempted by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), 8 U.S.C. 1324a(b)(5). In reversing Defendant's convictions, the court relied on State v. Garcia, __ P.3d __ (this day decided), which held that state prosecutions such as the one in this case are expressly preempted by IRCA. View "State v. Morales" on Justia Law

The Kansas Offender Registration Act’s (KORA) requirements do not constitute punishment for Defendant’s underlying aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer crime.Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding, and driving while suspended. The district court found that Defendant used a deadly weapon in the commission of the offenses, and therefore, Defendant was required to register under KORA. Defendant appealed, arguing that the registration requirements could not be imposed based on the judicial factfindings under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) because the registration requirements constitute an increased penalty for his offenses. Defendant also argued that the district court erred by imposing an increased sentence based on his criminal history, which was not proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court rejected Defendant’s Apprendi claims as it has done repeatedly in many other cases, holding that Defendant failed to demonstrate that the registration requirements constitute punishment. View "State v. Watkins" on Justia Law

Defendant pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child for offenses he committed in 2008. At the time of his plea, the Kansas Offender Registration Act required lifetime registration. On appeal, Defendant argued for the first time that the lifetime requirement violated the Ex Post Facto Clause because at the time of the crimes only ten years’ registration would have been required. The court of appeals concluded that the constitutional grounds for reversal asserted for the first time on appeal were not properly before the court. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant’s petition for review failed to challenge the court of appeals’ decision not to consider his ex post facto claim for the first time on appeal. View "State v. Tappendick" on Justia Law