If you are facing criminal charges, it can be scary. Your attorney likely reviewed the maximum possible prison sentence you could receive. Hearing about the possibility of months or years in prison made you imagine how your life, your job, your family could be forever changed. Then, you hea...
Soon after being charged with a crime, it is important to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney. Many attorneys offer initial consultations. This serves two purposes. First, it gives you and the attorney a quick snapshot of your case so the two of you can determine whether the attor...
In Kansas, you can be convicted of a DUI if the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you operated or attempted to operate a vehicle while your blood alcohol content was at least .08 or if you were too intoxicated to drive due to alcohol and/or drug consumption. A DUI arrest initia...
The holidays are a joyous time of year where we spread peace on earth and good tidings to all. Research shows, ironically, that it is also a season of increased crime. There are a couple of reasons for this. Stress levels are high due to financial obligations and from spending more time extend...
For most people an arrest will be the first, and only, encounter with the Kansas justice system. Whether you made a bad decision or were wrongly accused, there are a few things that can done to reduce the negative impacts of that encounter. STOP TALKING There's a reason they say, “anything you...
Your choice of attorney is one of the most important you will make – and one of the most difficult. You will likely have many options varying from a court-appointed attorney or a myriad of private attorneys. It is a good idea to have a list of questions in mind to narrow down the field. You sh...
DUI is one of the few crimes that can happen to anyone at virtually any time in their life. All it could take is ordering a double at dinner or staying for one more at a gathering. Obviously, the best way to avoid a DUI is not to drink in the first place. But, if you do drink and think you may...
In Kansas, a theft occurs when someone takes something from another person with the intent to permanently deprive the owner. Retail theft, or shoplifting, is the most common category of theft. But, theft also includes a loss of services and obtaining control over property that was stolen by som...
In Kansas, you can be charged with domestic battery if you harm a family member, the person you are dating, or a household member. That “harm” includes physical contact done in a rude, insulting or angry manner. WHAT IS THE COOLING OFF PERIOD? In short, someone must be arrested if the office...
Your choice of clothing as a defendant in court has little to do with making a fashion faux pas or facing the embarrassment of wearing last year's look. Beyond the obvious no shirt, no shoes, no service standard, there are a few considerations you should make before appearing in court. Below ar...
Errors injected into a trial by a prosecutor can be classified as either prosecutorial error or prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutorial error is typically seen as some sort of honest mistake of the law or of some fact. Prosecutorial misconduct, on the other hand, is more egregious, intentionall...
In Kansas, a person can be convicted for DUI under K.S.A. 8-1567(a)(3) if “under the influence of alcohol to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle.” The penalty for a DUI depends on the number of prior convictions. See K.S.A. 8-1567(b). Prior convictions includ...
The probation violation statute, K.S.A. 22-3716, permits judges to impose a lesser prison sentence than the one imposed at the defendant's original sentencing hearing. Having briefed probation violation cases several times, I was familiar with the provision. But, this is not the matter of common ...
Who hasn't heard the phrase, "Don't do the crime unless you're willing to do the time?" I think we can all generally agree that actions have consequences. But, those consequences should correspond in severity to the actions. I was appointed to review the sentences in three separate cases. Aft...
The Court of Appeals recently reversed the enhancement of a DUI sentence in State v. Portsche. This case is an important one for anyone charged with a crime, but especially those charged with DUI. The underlying issue was about reliability of documents to support allegations that can wind up co...
Repost from below: The penalty for DUI under Kansas law increases based on the number of the defendant's prior convictions. See K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1567(b). A prior conviction can be a conviction for a violation of another state's law that "prohibits the acts that the Kansas DUI law prohibits." ...
The United States Supreme Court recently published its opinion in Utah v. Strieff holding that the exclusionary rule does not apply when police officers unconstitutionally detain a person walking down the street, if the officer learns the person has a minor traffic warrant during the course of th...
The use of many forensic "science" techniques are being shown to be less reliable than originally thought. In an article published online by Scientific American titled, When DNA Implicates the Innocent, the use of touch DNA evidence is shown to have possible flaws despite being touted at infall...
In Appellate Case No. 111021, the defendant was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, a severity level three person felony. The district court instructed the jurors on the elements of the charged crime and the lesser offenses of battery of a law enforcement officer for re...
The penalty for DUI under Kansas law increases based on the number of the defendant's prior convictions. See K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-1567(b). A prior conviction can be a conviction for a violation of another state's law that "prohibits the acts that the Kansas DUI law prohibits." K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 8-...
