TOPEKA—A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals will hear six appeals in Wichita Tuesday, September 16, as part of on-campus U.S. Constitution Observance Day activities.
Hearings will take place in two sessions — at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. — in the Campus Activity Center Theater on the Wichita State University campus.
The appeals are from Finney, Ford, Sedgwick and Stanton counties.
Judge David E. Bruns will preside over the hearings and he will be joined on the bench by Judge G. Joseph Pierron Jr. and Judge Anthony J. Powell.
Bruns said the cases on appeal demonstrate how courts interpret and apply laws adopted by our Legislature and the rights guaranteed to all by the U.S. Constitution.
"Every day, in courts throughout our state and across our nation, the constitutional rights we all enjoy are tested in cases like these,” Bruns said. “These cases show, in a very understandable way, how courts ensure Constitutional rights are upheld.”
Attorneys for each side will have an opportunity to argue their points before the judges and the judges will ask questions about the cases and arguments being made. When oral arguments conclude, the three-judge panel will meet to discuss the cases and then issue written opinions in about 60 days.
When the oral arguments are complete, the judges will be available to talk with students.
These hearings are part of Constitution Day observance activities at Wichita State University. Congress directed federally funded educational institutions to host educational events about the United States Constitution on or about September 17 each year. The Constitution was signed September 17, 1787, by a majority of delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Following are summaries of the cases to be heard by the Court of Appeals panel:
9:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Appeal No. 110,385: State of Kansas v. Darren Rhoten
(Ford County) Rhoten appeals his conviction for driving under the influence. Law enforcement officers stopped him in Ford County after they received a call regarding someone driving a motorcycle or similar vehicle in the bed of the Arkansas River. A deputy drove to the scene and found a truck with a trailer parked in the riverbed. The deputy waited approximately one hour for the truck to pull back onto a county road and then initiated a traffic stop. The deputy noted that the driver—Rhoten—displayed several signs of alcohol consumption. On appeal, Rhoten argues that the deputy did not possess reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop and, as a result, the district court should have suppressed the evidence.
Appeal No. 109,664: First National Bank of Hutchinson v. United Rentals Northwest Inc.
(Stanton County) This is a civil negligence action arising out of the collapse of a boom crane in November 2006. Hawkins and Martin, who were working in a basket suspended from the crane, fell approximately 65 feet to 70 feet and suffered serious injuries. The crane, which was leased by Hawkins and Martin's employer, was owned by Western Steel and Automation Inc. The crane was manufactured in 1995 and sold to Western Steel in 1997. An employee of the seller, United Rentals, inspected the crane for Western Steel in 1999. The crane was not inspected again before the accident. Lawsuits involving multiple parties were filed in Stanton County in 2007. A jury trial was eventually held only on the claims asserted against United Rentals. The jury returned a verdict in favor of United Rentals, finding the company to be 0 percent at fault in causing the accident. After the verdict, the plaintiffs filed a motion for new trial in which they asserted, among other things, juror misconduct. The district court denied plaintiffs' motion for a new trial on all grounds. On appeal, the plaintiffs raise three issues: (1) whether the jury was given an erroneous instruction of law; (2) whether the district court erroneously granted United Rentals a partial directed verdict; and (3) whether one of the jurors committed misconduct.
Appeal No. 110,350: State of Kansas v. Nelson Glover
(Sedgwick County) Glover appeals an order from the district court denying his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty to second degree murder, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery. After the district court denied his motion to withdraw guilty plea, Glover was sentenced to 152 months in prison. On appeal, he argues that good cause exists to withdraw his guilty plea. Specifically, he argues that his previous attorney coerced him into pleading and that he did not voluntarily enter the plea.
1:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Appeal No. 109,871: State of Kansas v. Donald L. Davis
(Sedgwick County) Davis was convicted by a jury of three counts of aggravated human trafficking and three counts of statutory rape. On three different occasions, Davis had sex with a 13-year-old girl. In addition, Davis took the girl to another man's house three times to have sex with the man. The man paid her for sex, and Davis kept half the money. After a jury convicted Davis, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. On appeal, Davis argues that (1) the jury should have decided the girl's age at the time of the offenses; (2) the district court erred by admitting hearsay evidence of the girl's age; (3) the district court improperly excluded certain evidence, and (4) the aggravated human trafficking statute is unconstitutional.
Appeal No. 110,226: State of Kansas v. Abigail Reed
(Finney County) Reed pleaded guilty to indecent solicitation of a child. Originally, Reed had been charged with criminal sodomy, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and indecent solicitation of a child. Although Reed fell within the presumptive probation portion of the sentencing guidelines, the district court sentenced her to 18 months in prison and then placed her on probation. Subsequently, the district court revoked Reed's probation, and she was ordered to serve her prison sentence as well as a 24 month period of post-release supervision. Later, the State filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence because Reed was statutorily required to serve a term of lifetime post-release supervision. The district court granted the state's motion. On appeal, Reed argues that the sentence she received after the probation revocation was illegal.
Appeal No. 110,186: State of Kansas v. Anthony H. Martinez
(Sedgwick County) Martinez pleaded "no contest" to the charge of failing to register under the Kansas Offender Registration Act. The district court sentenced Martinez to 37 months in prison but granted him a downward dispositional departure to 24 months probation. On appeal, Martinez argues that the district court erred in classifying several prior municipal convictions as person misdemeanors in his criminal history and that the district court violated his constitutional rights by failing to have a jury decide his criminal history.