Jerome Hellmer

Chief justice reappoints Jerome Hellmer to Kansas Government Ethics Commission

TOPEKA — Chief Justice Marla Lucker reappointed Jerome Hellmer, a retired judge, to the Kansas Government Ethics Commission.

Hellmer’s term runs through January 2022.

Hellmer has served on the ethics commission since his January 2015 retirement as chief judge of the 28th Judicial District, which is composed of Saline and Ottawa counties. He had served as a district court judge since 1996 and chief judge since 2011. Before he was appointed judge, Hellmer practiced law in Salina for 22 years.

The nine-member Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission is charged with administering, interpreting and enforcing the state's Campaign Finance Act and laws relating to conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, and lobbying regulation. These laws establish the public’s right to information about the financial affairs of Kansas’ public officials, lobbyists, and candidates for office. The commission also renders advisory opinions and can adopt rules and regulations under a less comprehensive conflict-of-interest law covering local government officials and employees.

The chief justice appoints one member of the commission. The governor appoints two members, and the secretary of state, attorney general, Senate president, House speaker, Senate minority leader, and House minority leader each appoint a member.

Amber Smith

Chief justice appoints Amber Smith to Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

TOPEKA—Chief Justice Marla Luckert appointed Amber Smith as her designee on the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

Smith succeeds Justice Caleb Stegall, who previously served in this role.

Smith joined the judicial branch's Office of Judicial Administration as deputy judicial administrator in July 2019. She previously was chief litigation counsel for the Kansas Corporation Commission. She is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law and holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in economics, all from Washburn University.

The Kansas Legislature created the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in 1994. The council:

• develops and oversees reporting of all criminal justice federal funding available to the state or local units of government; and
• oversees management of the criminal justice information system.

Other council members include the governor or designee, the attorney general, the secretary of corrections, the superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Chief Judge Preston Pratt appointed to Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters

TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court appointed Chief Judge Preston Pratt of the 17th Judicial District to fill an unexpired term on the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters.

Pratt succeeds former District Judge Jeffry Jack, who retired. Pratt’s term expires June 30, 2021.

Pratt is chief judge of the 17th Judicial District, which is composed of Decatur, Graham, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, and Smith counties.

The Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters:

• supervises granting certificates of eligibility for certified court reporters;
• administers the annual registration;
• oversees court reporter conduct; and
• reviews and acts on any complaints made against a certified court reporter.

The board includes judges, practicing attorneys, and court reporters.

District Judge Rachel Pickering of the 3rd Judicial District, composed of Shawnee County, chairs the board.

Other members are:

• Sharon Cahill, an official court reporter in the 29th Judicial District, composed of Wyandotte County;
• Jennifer Hill, an attorney from Wichita;
• Sheila Lyons, an official court reporter in the 18th Judicial District, composed of Sedgwick County;
• Shirla McQueen, an attorney from Liberal;
• Jennifer Olsen, an official court reporter in the 3rd Judicial District; and
• Vesta York, a certified court reporter from Wichita.

The Kansas Supreme Court released the following published decisions today:

Appeal No. 116,111: State of Kansas v. Freddie Alec Thomas

Archived oral argument video

The Kansas Supreme Court ordered Barton County District Court to reevaluate its decision to grant Thomas immunity from prosecution under the state's self-defense laws. In 2015, Thomas fatally shot an unarmed man. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Dan Biles, the court said the facts the district court relied on did not necessarily mean Thomas acted in self-defense. The court said there were disputes about what happened during the conflict that needed to be resolved before the immunity decision could be made.

Appeal No. 117,743: State of Kansas v. Seth Collins

Archived oral argument video

The Kansas Supreme Court reinstated criminal charges against Collins stemming from a 2016 confrontation outside his apartment. Collins used a knife to fatally wound one woman and injure another, both unarmed. This occurred when the women followed Collins to his apartment after a parking lot brawl. Sedgwick County District Court dismissed the charges, ruling Collins was immune from prosecution because his actions were justified under the state's self-defense laws. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Dan Biles, the court ruled immunity should not have been granted because there was probable cause to believe Collins' actions were not justified as self-defense. Instead, the court said, the "decision whether to hold Collins criminally liable for his conduct, and to what degree, should be made at trial."

Appeal No. 118,737: State of Kansas v. Filiberto B. Espinoza Jr.

Summary calendar; no oral argument

In an opinion written by Justice Caleb Stegall, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Espinoza's life sentence with eligibility for parole after 25 years. Espinoza pleaded guilty in Wyandotte County District Court to first-degree felony murder —an off-grid person felony mandating a hard-25 sentence. But before sentencing, Espinoza moved for a durational departure arguing the hard-25 sentence was unconstitutional as applied to the facts of his case under § 9 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. Espinoza also raised this argument orally at sentencing. The district court denied his challenge, finding the sentence constitutional. Espinoza challenged the district court's decision on direct appeal, arguing the district court erred when it failed to make factual findings concerning Espinoza's as-applied constitutional challenge. The Supreme Court rejected this argument, finding a defendant making an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of a sentence under § 9 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights has an obligation to ensure an adequate factual record is developed in district court. If necessary, this requires the defendant to file a motion invoking the judge's duty to make findings of fact and conclusions of law under Supreme Court Rule 165 (2020 Kan. S. Ct. R. 215). Because Espinoza failed to do so, the court affirmed his sentence.

Kansas Court of Appeals decisions released today

The Kansas Supreme Court released the following published decisions today:

Appeal No. 114,675: State of Kansas v. Darrell Broxton

Archived oral argument video

On appeal by petition, the Supreme Court affirmed Broxton's convictions in Wyandotte County District Court but vacated his sentence and remanded his case for resentencing. In an opinion written by Justice Caleb Stegall, the court held the district court did not err when it refused to give a felony-murder instruction because felony murder is not a lesser included offense of first-degree premeditated murder. The court further held when performing a jury instruction analysis, an appellate court must not continue to factual appropriateness if the instruction is not legally appropriate. Broxton also argued the district court erred when it excluded a "No Information" document filed by Florida authorities stating they lacked sufficient evidence to charge Broxton in a 1996 Florida homicide. The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals the evidence was both relevant and probative to disprove Broxton committed the Florida murder, which the State sought to admit as evidence of a prior bad act under K.S.A. 60-455 to prove identity. However, this error was harmless in light of the significant and convincing body of evidence presented at trial. The Supreme Court also held the district court erred when it scored a 1989 Florida burglary conviction as a nonperson felony. The Supreme Court changed its analysis of "comparable offenses" in State v. Wetrich, 307 Kan. 552, 561-62, 412 P.3d 984 (2018), which was decided while Broxton's case was on appeal. Under this new analysis, the Florida burglary statute used to convict Broxton is not a "comparable offense" to the Kansas analogue and must be scored as a nonperson felony. Broxton received the benefit of this change in the law because the change occurred during his direct appeal's pendency and not using a motion to correct an illegal sentence. The Supreme Court remanded Broxton's case for resentencing with the Florida burglary offense scored as a nonperson felony.

Appeal No. 117,362: State of Kansas v. Bryan Richard Harris

Archived oral argument video

The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the Court of Appeals and Atchison County District Court in Harris' case and remands the matter for a new trial. The Supreme Court held Harris' waiver of his right to jury trial was legally insufficient based on the district court's failure to properly inform Harris of his right and to ensure Harris understood the nature of his right. In light of this decision, the Supreme Court declined to address Harris' other claims.

Appeal No. 117,362: State of Kansas v. Reginald Frazier

Archived oral argument video

The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and Geary County District Court decisions to deny Frazier's motion to withdraw a plea of no contest. The case is remanded with directions. As part of his plea negotiations, Frazier signed a plea agreement that, in part, purported to preclude any charges in Ohio. This provision is of uncertain enforceability. The Supreme Court holds the defendant did not understandingly sign the plea agreement when he relied on an uncertain provision that works in his favor and he justifiably believed that provision to be a certainty. Accordingly, Frazier has shown good cause and must be allowed to withdraw his plea.

Appeal No. 119,665: State of Kansas v. Nicholas Corbin

Summary calendar; no oral argument

The Supreme Court affirmed Saline County District Court's denial of Corbin's intellectual disability claim. In 2014, Corbin pleaded no contest to murder of his 2-month old son. The district court rejected his argument he was intellectually disabled. In a 2016 appeal, the Supreme Court remanded the case to district court to reconsider its ruling because the applicable law had changed. On remand, the district court complied with the Supreme Court's direction and again denied the intellectual disability claim. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Dan Biles, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court's ruling and held its decision was reasonable and supported by the evidence.

Appeal No. 119,712: State of Kansas v. Sony Uk

Archived oral argument video

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Lyon County District Court after Uk appealed his conviction for murder. Uk argued the district court should have given the jury an instruction on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of first-degree murder and the district court's instruction on premeditation was insufficient. The Supreme Court held that the absence of legally sufficient provocation rendered a voluntary manslaughter instruction factually inappropriate, and that the district court did not err by issuing an unmodified instruction defining premeditation from the Pattern Jury Instructions for Kansas.

Kansas Court of Appeals decisions released today