Appeal No. 114,395: Thomas J. Drennan Jr. v. State of Kansas

Summary calendar: no oral argument

The Supreme Court affirmed the Sedgwick County District Court's denial of Drennan's K.S.A. 60-1507 and K.S.A. 22-3504 motions alleging that his hard-50 sentence was both unconstitutional and illegal. The Supreme Court held that Drennan's K.S.A. 60-1507 motion was untimely, that Drennan could not show manifest injustice, and therefore his claim was procedurally barred. The court also held that Drennan's sentence was not illegal because Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 133 S. Ct. 2151, 186 L. Ed. 2d 314 (2013), was a substantive change in the law, not merely an extension of Apprendiv. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000).