TOPEKA—A three-judge panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 13, at the Neosho County Courthouse, 102 South Lincoln, Chanute.
The hearings will take place at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, and at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 13.
Judges Stephen D. Hill, Topeka; Steve Leben, Fairway; and G. Gordon Atcheson, Overland Park, will hear the cases. Leben will be the presiding judge for the hearings.
Leben said that the Court of Appeals hears cases throughout the state.
"We have hearings almost every month in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City," he said. "But we also visit other parts of the state so that our court is accessible to the people."
He added that hearing cases around the state saves money for the parties.
"When we have a group of cases from an area, it's certainly more economical to send three judges to a central location rather than to have the attorneys for both sides in quite a few cases come to us. That saves money for the parties being represented by these attorneys," Leben said.
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 Chanute arose in Anderson, Crawford, Greenwood, Labette, and Lyon counties. In addition to the Court of Appeals panel hearing cases this week in Chanute, 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 nine cases to be heard in Chanute are summarized as follows:
9 a.m. Tuesday May 12, 2015
No. 111,085: State of Kansas v. Artis Denton, Appeal from Lyon Co.
The defendant appeals his conviction for criminal threat, arguing that the statute under which he was prosecuted is unconstitutionally vague, that the district court did not provide proper instructions to the jury, and that the evidence wasn't sufficient to convict him.
No. 111,009: State of Kansas v. Kristina M. Arb, Appeal from Lyon Co.
The defendant appeals her conviction for distribution of Oxycodone by arguing that the district court did not provide proper instructions to the jury.
No. 110,556: State of Kansas v. Martin, Appeal from Greenwood Co.
The defendant appeals his convictions for second-degree murder and aggravated child endangerment, arguing that the district court did not provide proper instructions to the jury and that the statute on aggravated child endangerment is unconstitutionally vague.
No. 112,341: Vance v. DCCCA, Inc., Appeal from Workers Compensation Bd.
An injured worker appeals the decision of the Workers Compensation Board, which did not grant her any monetary award for a TMJ condition caused by an on-the-job injury.
1:30 p.m. Tuesday May 12, 2015
No. 111,310: State of Kansas v. Jimmie J. Dawes, Appeal from Lyon Co.
The defendant appeals his DUI conviction by arguing that the statute under which a Kansas Highway Patrol obtained a blood sample from him, while he was unconscious after an accident, is unconstitutional.
No. 111,398: State of Kansas v. Jason D. Kelsey, Appeal from Labette Co.
The defendant appeals the district court's denial of his request for DNA testing, after conviction, related to his convictions for two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child under age 14. The defendant argues that he is entitled to the testing under a statute that provides for such testing on convictions for first-degree murder and rape because his sentence, life in prison, is so severe that the protections of this statute should be extended to him.
No. 111,642: State of Kansas v. Andrew W. Parker, Appeal from Crawford Co.
The defendant appeals his conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine and other drug offenses by arguing that the search warrant used to obtain key evidence wasn't valid and that the evidence wasn't sufficient to convict him.
9 a.m. Wednesday May 13, 2015
No. 111,745: In re Estate of Robert L. Brecheisen, Appeal from Anderson Co.
A person who either sold or leased a trailer to another man, who died, appeals the district court's ruling enforcing an oral sales agreement and determining that the estate need not return the trailer. The person who sold or leased the trailer asks on appeal that the trailer be returned and that the estate be charged a rental fee for each day it has possessed the trailer.
No. 111,389: In re Estate of Beuford W. Rickabaugh, Appeal from Greenwood Co.
The son and heir of a deceased man appeals the district court's admission of the man's will into probate; the son also argues, in the alternative, that the will was revoked and that even if the will is to be admitted in probate, the district court misconstrued it.