Per Curiam : This is the fourth school finance decision involving these parties and Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution, which imposes a duty on the legislature to "make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state." Kan. Const. art. 6, 6(b). The plaintiffs filed suit in 2010 asserting that the State violated this constitutional requirement by inequitable and inadequate funding of K-12 public education. A three-judge panel was appointed to hear the case...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Biles , J. : This case returns after the United States Supreme Court reversed and remanded our penalty-phase determination in State v. Gleason, 299 Kan. 1127, 329 P.3d 1102 (2014) ( Gleason I ), rev'd and remanded sub nom. Kansas v. Carr, 577 U.S. ___, 136 S.Ct. 633 , 193 L.Ed.2d 535 (2016). That requires us to address the unresolved penalty-phase issues from Sidney J. Gleason's capital murder trial. As explained, Gleason is not entitled to...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Luckert , J. : K.S.A. 75-52,138 requires prison inmates to (1) exhaust administrative remedies before filing a civil lawsuit against the Kansas Secretary of Corrections, a prison warden, or certain other officials and (2) file proof of that exhaustion when initiating the suit. This appeal raises procedural issues regarding these requirements and the standards for deciding motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. Because we determine the...
The opinion of the court is delivered by Beier , J. : This is a direct appeal in a capital case. Because appellant Douglas Belt died in prison during the pendency of this appeal, we follow State v. Hollister, 300 Kan. 458, 329 P.3d 1220 (2014) (death of defendant during pendency of direct appeal does not abate prosecution; appellate court need not consider merits of every issue raised on appeal). Under Hollister, following the death of an appellant, "an appellate court should...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Luckert , J. : In previous proceedings, a jury convicted Gary W. Kleypas of capital murder, aggravated burglary, and attempted rape and determined that Kleypas should be sentenced to death. Subsequently, the district court imposed the death sentence for the capital murder conviction, as well as time in prison for the other convictions. Kleypas appealed from his convictions and sentences, and in State v. Kleypas, 272 Kan. 894 , 40 P.3d 139 (...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Nuss , C.J. : Rachel Platt, whose probationary employment was terminated by Kansas State University (University), sued the institution for retaliatory discharge. She alleged the University fired her as a result of her potential workers compensation claims for work related injuries. The district court dismissed Platt's lawsuit essentially for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies. It held that...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Luckert , J. : Kansas' speedy trial statute, K.S.A. 2015 Supp. 22-3402(b), provides in relevant part: "If any person charged with a crime and held to answer on an appearance bond shall not be brought to trial within 180 days after arraignment on the charge, such person shall be entitled to be discharged from further liability to be tried for the crime charged." (Emphasis added.) Despite the express limitation of this provision to cases in which a...
The opinion of the court was delivered by Johnson , J. : Betty Born (Betty), in her capacity as a trustee of the inter vivos, revocable trust created with her late husband, John H. Born, Jr. (John), hereafter referred to as "the Born Trust," brought this injunctive and declaratory judgment action against Sharon Born (Sharon). Sharon held two installment promissory notes upon which the Born Trust assets had been pledged as security when John died. When Betty attempted to make payments on...
Per Curiam : This case requires us to determine whether the State has met its burden to show that recent legislation brings the State's K-12 public school funding system into compliance with Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution. We hold it has not. On February 11, 2016, we affirmed the holding of the three-judge district court panel that found changes made to the State's K-12 funding system through enactment of the Classroom Learning Assuring Student Success Act of 2015 (CLASS) violated the...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : This wrongful death case, arising out of a car accident that killed Jamie Ullery, calls upon this court to determine whether the Court of Appeals had jurisdiction to entertain an appeal taken mid-case after the district judge certified that there was "no just reason for delay" under K.S.A. 2015 Supp. 60-254(b). We hold that Prime Lending II v. Trolley's Real Estate Holdings, 48 Kan.App.2d 847 , 304 P.3d 683 (2013), does not apply...
The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS , C.J. : This is an action for personal injury and wrongful death brought against the State by Ron Keiswetter, individually and on behalf of the estate and heirs-at-law of his mother Helen Keiswetter. She died from her injuries after a minimum-security inmate escaped from the State's custody, entered her home, and ultimately forced her into a closet. The Norton County District Court granted summary judgment to the State on a number of grounds,...
The opinion of the court was delivered by JOHNSON , J. : Plaintiff, proceeding under the pseudonym John Doe, filed a declaratory judgment action against agents of the State, claiming that retroactive application of the 2011 amendments to the Kansas Offender Registration Act, K.S.A. 22-4901 et seq. (KORA), violated the Ex Post Facto Clause of Article I, 10 of the United States Constitution (hereafter, Ex Post Facto Clause). The district court granted summary judgment in Doe's favor,...
The opinion of the court was delivered by JOHNSON , J. : Anthony C. Hankins seeks review of the Court of Appeals decision to affirm the district court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. The motion claimed that the sentencing court used an incorrect criminal history score by including an Oklahoma deferred judgment as a prior conviction. The Court of Appeals majority held that the invited error doctrine barred Hankins' challenge to his criminal history score. In dicta,...
The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS , C.J. : After accepting William Shank's guilty pleas, the district court ultimately sentenced him to life with a mandatory minimum of 25 years for first-degree murder, 59 months for aggravated arson, and 32 months for aggravated burglary. It ordered all sentences to run consecutively and imposed $108,427.65 in restitution. Shank argues the district court abused its discretion in ordering his sentences to run consecutively instead of...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BILES , J. : This is an interlocutory appeal challenging a district court's decision to set aside a dismissal order in a personal injury lawsuit more than 4 years after that order was entered and the case was closed. The threshold question is whether a common-law exception to our statutory jurisdictional requirements remains valid, giving us the ability to decide this question. See Brown v. Fitzpatrick, 224 Kan. 636 , 585 P.2d 987 (1978)....
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN DISCIPLINE PER CURIAM : This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against the respondent, David Ben Mandelbaum, of Leawood, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 1987. On April 8, 2015, the office of the Disciplinary Administrator filed a formal complaint against the respondent alleging violations of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct (KRPC). The respondent filed an answer and probation...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : Defendant Alesia Warrior appeals the district court judge's denial of her motion to correct what she argues is her illegal hard 50 life sentence. In 2008, Warrior was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder of her husband, Jeremy. The sentencing judge imposed the hard 50 after finding that two aggravating factors existed — Warrior committed the crime for the purpose of receiving money...
The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. : Thirteen years after George LaMae was convicted of first-degree felony murder and the underlying felony of manufacture of methamphetamine, he filed a pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence. The district court summarily denied the motion, and LaMae appealed to this court pursuant to K.S.A. 2015 Supp. 22-3601(b)(3). See also State v. Pennington, 288 Kan. 599, 205 P.3d 741 (2009) (jurisdiction over motion to correct illegal...
The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. : Despite having been found incompetent to assist in his own defense, Paul Sykes was adjudicated a sexually violent predator. On review of the decision by the Court of Appeals, we affirm the adjudication. In 1987, Sykes was convicted in Wyandotte County of burglary and aggravated sexual battery, based on an incident in which he broke into a house and hit a couple of young female occupants, who observed that his pants were unzipped and...
PER CURIAM : This is a school finance case concerning Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution, which imposes a duty on the legislature to "make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state." Kan. Const. art. 6, 6(b). In Gannon v. State, 298 Kan. 1107 , 1163, 319 P.3d 1196 (2014) ( Gannon I ), we confirmed that Article 6 contains both adequacy and equity requirements. It necessitates that the legislature provide enough funds to ensure public school students...
