No Trespassing

In Jones v. United States, 565 U.S. _______ (2012), the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police performed a “search” when they attached a GPS tracker to Jones’ car. While all the justices reached the same conclusion, they traveled different paths to get there. Writing for the majority, Justice Scalia revived the Fourth Amendment’s .. read more

We Should Expand the Exclusionary Rule

I recently finished presenting evidence in a three day trial against the State of Kansas. Specifically, we alleged that my client received ineffective assistance of counsel. During the trial, one of the prosecution’s witnesses deliberately disregarded a court order and failed to preserve evidence. That evidence would have helped my client show he wasn’t guilty .. read more

Police Can’t Always Search Incident to Arrest

In State v. Oram, No. 104,163, Misti Oram was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies conducting a routine traffic stop. Oram was eventually arrested for obstruction of justice, and her passenger was arrested on an outstanding warrant. The deputies handcuffed Oram and her passenger and placed them in the backseat of separate patrol cars. Then the deputies .. read more

Sometimes A Video Is A Writing; Sometimes It Isn’t

In State v. Dale, No. 99,781, Dale robbed a flower shop using a gun and then attempted to flee on foot. His flight ended when he traded fire with the police, as he was shot, injured, and subsequently arrested. At trial the State admitted two DVDs with video of the incident taken from a patrol car. One .. read more

Kansas Supreme Court Rule 226

Kansas Supreme Court Rule 226 – Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(b) – states that a lawyer shall not make a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services. A communication is false or misleading if it:

Disclaimer: Each case is different. Just because we achieve a result on a particular case or particular charge does not mean that we will be able to achieve the same result for your case or charge. This is not a full list of all case dispositions. We provide this for informational purposes only. Case names have been altered to protect the confidentiality of our clients.

In State v. Johnson, No. 105,598, the Kansas Court of appeals decided a matter of first impression in Kansas. Johnson was convicted in the district court of aggravated battery (the latter via aiding and abetting), when she seemingly encouraged a man she had picked up at a bar to injure her paramour for a perceived indiscretion. .. read more

Kansas Court of Appeals Holds Third-Party Compulsion Defense Applies to Prison Escapees

In State v. Ottinger, the defendant was ordered – for probation – to complete the Sedgwick County Community Corrections Program at the Adult Residential Center (“the Center”).  He was also ordered to have no contact with his wife – codefendant in the same case.  On August 28, 2010, Ottinger was granted permission to leave the .. read more

Waivers Have Consequences

Recently, the Kansas Court of Appeals was faced with the case of Mr. Anthony Barnes.  State v. Barnes, No. 100,710 (Kan. Ct. App. Sept. 23, 2011).  Mr. Barnes suffers from various mental illness including chronic paranoid schizophrenia.    In Sedgwick County, he was charged with one charge of first-degree premeditated murder and one charge of .. read more

Racial Profiling Still Difficult to Prove

In United States v. Flores-Olmos, a recent case brought before the Tenth Circuit, Mr. Ruben Flores-Olmos argued he was the victim of racial profiling.  In his case, Mr. Flores-Olmos was stopped by a Oklahoma deputy after the deputy caught sight of a passenger in his pickup hanging his upper body out of the passenger-side window .. read more

“Black Man with Facial Hair” Is Not Enough to Arrest Someone

In a recent opinion by the Kansas Supreme Court, the court reversed the conviction of Robert Johnson.  See State v. Johnson, No. 98,812 (Kan Sept. 2, 2011).  In State v. Johnson, Mr. Johnson was charged with one felony county of possession of cocaine, one misdimeanor count of possession of marijuana, and one felony count of possession of .. read more