Appeal No. 121,949: State of Kansas v. Shelbert Smith

Archived oral argument video

The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Sedgwick County District Court denying Smith's motion for leave to appeal his convictions out of time. Smith had twice before appealed the district court's denials of his motion to appeal out of time under the third exception set forth in State v. Ortiz¸ 230 Kan. 733, 640 P.2d 1255 (1982), and the Supreme Court had twice before reversed the district court's decisions and remanded the matter for further consideration. This time, Smith challenged the district court's credibility determination with respect to his third Ortiz exception claim and its conclusion that certain newly raised arguments were outside the scope of the Supreme Court's previous appellate mandates. The Supreme Court unanimously concluded these newly raised issues were outside the scope of the previous mandates, which were stated in specific terms that limited the district court to consider only Smith's credibility in the context of the third Ortiz exception. The Supreme Court also unanimously affirmed the district court's credibility determination as supported by substantial competent evidence.