TOPEKA—A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 18, at the Finney County Courthouse, 425 North 8th Street, Garden City.
Judges G. Joseph Pierron Jr., David E. Bruns, and Kim R. Schroeder will hear oral argument in seven criminal and civil cases at dockets that convene at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The panel will also decide 11 cases without argument based on the parties' written submissions.
Pierron, the presiding judge for the panel, said that the Court of Appeals regularly hears cases throughout the state.
"Nearly every month, panels of Court of Appeals judges will hear cases in Wichita, Topeka, and the Kansas City area," he said. "We welcome the opportunity to visit other places, like Garden City. It makes our court more accessible to Kansans."
Pierron said that hearing cases around the state also saves money for the parties.
"When a three-judge panel visits a location where many cases from a region can be heard, the attorneys representing the parties do not have to travel to Topeka," Pierron said.
Oral Arguments
Attorneys for each side will have an opportunity to present argument to the judges, and the judges will have a chance to ask questions. The court will then take each case under consideration and will issue a written decision at a later date, usually within about 60 days.
The appeals to be heard in Garden City arose in Ellis, Ellsworth, Ford, Logan, Trego, and Sherman counties. In addition to the Court of Appeals panel hearing cases this week in Garden City, other three-judge panels of the Court of Appeals will be hearing cases in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City. All hearings are open to the public.
There are 14 judges on the Court of Appeals, and the judges sit in three-judge panels to decide cases. In 2014, the Court of Appeals resolved appeals in 1,861 cases, including 1,295 in which the court issued a formal written opinion.
The seven cases to be heard in Garden City are summarized as follows:
9 a.m. Tuesday August 18, 2015
No. 111,962: Kenneth E. Wilson v. State of Kansas, appeal from Osborne County
Kenneth E. Wilson challenges his 2009 conviction for first-degree murder and other crimes in a habeas corpus action on the grounds his trial lawyer provided constitutionally inadequate representation for failing to seek the pretrial exclusion of some evidence against him.
No. 111,808: In the Matter of the Marriage of Courtney L. Schmeidler and Brian D. Schmeidler, appeal from Ellis County
The Ellis County District Court granted the couple a divorce, determining child custody and support, and approving the parties' property settlement agreement. Less than five months later, Courtney filed a motion to modify the child support, which the district court granted. Brian appeals, arguing that the district court's decision constitutes an improper modification of the parties' property settlement agreement. In the alternative, Brian argues that the district court abused its discretion in granting Courtney's motion to modify child support.
No. 111,827: Danker & Danker Public Relations v. Brenda McCants d/b/a Blending Moments, appeal from Sherman County
Danker filed a petition against McCants alleging McCants was personally liable for the unpaid balance for work Danker had done for McCants. The Sherman County District Court granted McCants' motion for summary judgment, finding she was not personally liable as a matter of law. Danker appeals, arguing McCants is personally liable because she never disclosed to Danker that she was acting as an agent for a limited liability company. Danker contends McCants acted in her capacity as president of Blending Moments, which is a trademarked name. Because trademarks do not provide the same personal liability shield as an LLC does, Danker argues McCants is not protected by the shield of a limited liability company.
No. 113,244: Erick Wade Harbacek, #49146, v. Daniel Schnurr, et al., appeal from Ellsworth County
Eric Harbacek appeals the district court's summary denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Harbacek claims the Kansas Department of Corrections incorrectly computed his conditional release date in contravention of ex post facto laws. He contends the loss of 90 days good time was not a punishment available to the Department of Corrections and violated ex post facto laws. The Department of Corrections argues Harbacek's conditional release was properly and legally computed.
1:30 p.m. Tuesday August 18, 2015
No. 110,841: In the Matter of the Guardianship and Conservatorship of Rosa Lee Raney, appeal from Trego County
Carl Raney appeals the Trego County District Court's decision not to remove Wayne Raney as the conservator for his elderly mother, Rosa Lee Raney. Carl alleges that Wayne violated multiple fiduciary duties while serving as conservator of his mother's estate, and the district court abused its discretion in finding that while Wayne had failed to strictly comply with the rules established by K.S.A. 59-3069, his compliance was not fatal.
No. 110,046: State of Kansas v. David Darrel Williams, appeal from Ellis County
David Williams appeals his conviction of distribution of methamphetamine. On September 13, 2012, an undercover officer and a confidential informant picked up Williams in the undercover officer's unmarked vehicle and purchased methamphetamine from him. Another officer located down the street listened to and recorded the parties' conversations. At trial, the confidential informant was unavailable to testify. Over Williams' objection, the Ellis County District Court played the recording for the jury, which included statements from the unavailable confidential informant. Williams argues on appeal that permitting the jury to hear the recording violated his Sixth Amendment right to be confronted with the witnesses against him. Williams also argues that the district court erred by using his prior convictions to increase his sentence without requiring the state to prove such convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.
No. 112,067: State of Kansas v. Ricardo Barnhardt, appeal from Ford County
This is a direct appeal of Barnhart's convictions of two counts aggravated battery, one count felony endangering a child and one count of misdemeanor battery out of Ford County. The charges arose out of a domestic dispute between Barnhart and his girlfriend who was 38 weeks pregnant. On appeal, Barnhart is arguing: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction; (2) his fundamental rights were violated when the jury was mistakenly allowed to listen to an unredacted videotape, (3) his defense counsel provided insufficient representation and (4) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct by playing the unredacted videotape for the jury.
No. 113,288: In the Matter of the Estate of Earlene F. Brenner, deceased, appeal from Sherman County
Beverly Goodman, daughter of Earlene F. Brenner, filed a petition for issuance of letters of administration approximately seven months after Brenner's death. The Sherman County District Court denied the petition by finding Beverly's claims of a last will and testament were untimely and also that Brenner's estate lacked substantial assets to administer. Goodman argues the appellate court should hold that proof of assets is not a prerequisite to issuing letters of administration. Brenner's son Danny argues the petition was untimely as a claim against the estate and that the district court correctly determined that a lack of assets prevented administering any estate.