The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. : In 1861, the people of the new State of Kansas adopted a constitution that assigned judicial power to a supreme court and to various lower courts: "The judicial power of the State shall be vested in a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, justices of the peace, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, as may be provided by law; and all courts of record shall have a seal, to be used in the authentication of all...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : Defendant Raymond Fuller challenges the Court of Appeals' decision affirming the district court judge's denial of his K.S.A. 60-1507 motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Fuller argues that he was blindsided by his lawyer's aggressive questioning of him during his trial for rape, aggravated sexual battery, and aggravated burglary. He also challenges his lawyer's failure to call a witness who would have testified about the...
The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. Charles L. Jones appeals from the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence following his conviction and sentence for first-degree murder. He argues that the failure on the part of the trial court to order sua sponte a competency examination rendered his sentence illegal. Because his claim is procedural, not jurisdictional, he cannot prevail in his claim that his sentence was illegal. In 2000, at the age of 18, Jones was...
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING IN DISCIPLINE PER CURIAM . This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against the respondent, Elizabeth Anne Hueben, of Kansas City, Missouri, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 2004. On February 11, 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...
The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS , C.J. This is an appeal by Shawnee Mission School District No. 512 (U.S.D. 512) from the district court panel's denial of its March 2, 2015, motion to intervene in Gannon v. State, No. 2010-CV-1569 (Shawnee Cty. Dist. Ct. April 20, 2015) (Order on U.S.D. 512's Motion to Intervene). The Plaintiffs in the underlying "school finance" case—currently on appeal to this court in Case No. 113,267—continue to oppose U.S.D. 512's entry into that...
The opinion of the court was delivered by JOHNSON , J. : Steven Cresto (Steven) and Terese Jones (Terese), collectively referred to herein as "children," were the natural children of Francis E. Cresto, deceased (Decedent). The children challenged Decedent's 2008 last will and testament and inter vivos trust which changed his prior estate plan to leave full ownership of all of his property to his third wife and the children's second stepmother, Mary K. Koehler Cresto (Kathleen), and her...
The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. : The State of Kansas brought a quo warranto action pursuant to K.S.A. 60-1205 to remove David Scott Morrison from his position on the Prairie Village City Council. After conducting a hearing, the district court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to show that Morrison willfully engaged in misconduct while in office and willfully neglected to perform a duty enjoined upon him by law. Consequently, the district court entered an...
The opinion of the court was delivered by NUSS , C.J. : This is an appeal by Shawnee Mission School District No. 512 (U.S.D. 512) from the district court panel's denial of its March 2, 2015, motion to intervene in Gannon v. State, No. 2010-CV-1569 (Shawnee Cty. Dist. Ct. April 20, 2015) (Order on U.S.D. 512's Motion to Intervene). The Plaintiffs in the underlying "school finance" case — currently on appeal to this court in Case No. 113,267 — continue to oppose U.S.D. 512's entry into...
The opinion of the court was delivered by STEGALL , J. : In January 2012, Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCPL) condemned a power line easement bisecting two tracts of undeveloped agricultural land in southern Johnson County. The land was owned by the trusts for Daniel and Evelyn Strong (the Strongs). The easement occupied approximately 12 out of a combined 460 acres. Court-appointed appraisers awarded the Strongs $96,465 in damages. The Strongs appealed. At trial, the jury awarded the...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : This case presents the question of whether a criminal defendant, whose conviction has been reversed in a K.S.A. 60-1507 proceeding and who has entered a plea to different charges pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 , 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), may pursue a legal malpractice claim against trial and appellate counsel without first demonstrating actual innocence. We also are asked to decide whether the Board of...
The opinion of the court was delivered by LUCKERT , J .: In State v. Murray, 293 Kan. 1051 , 271 P.3d 739 (2012) ( Murray I ), we remanded this case for a determination of Randall A. Murray's motion to correct an illegal sentence. In his motion, he argued the district court lacked jurisdiction to convict him because it failed to suspend proceedings after ordering a competency examination in the underlying criminal case. On remand, the district court determined: (1) a competency...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : Defendant Michael Reed appeals his first-degree felony-murder conviction, arising out of the shooting death of Vincent Barnes. Reed raises several instructional issues, a sufficiency of the evidence challenge, and a hearsay challenge. He also asserts entitlement to reversal because of cumulative error. For its part, the State questions whether this court has jurisdiction to consider Reed's appeal in the first place. As detailed...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BILES , J. : This is a class action for underpayment of royalties claimed under 25 oil and gas leases entered into between 1944 and 1991. The controversy arises because the lessee-operator sells its raw natural gas at the wellhead to third parties, who in turn process the gas before it enters the interstate pipeline system. The price the operator is paid — and upon which royalties have been calculated — is based on a formula that starts with the...
The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN , J. : Brent Allan Bollinger appeals from his convictions by a jury of felony murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated child endangerment. We find no error in the proceedings below and affirm the convictions. The defendant Brent Bollinger (Bollinger) married the victim, Brenna Stewart Bollinger (Brenna), in March 2009. They lived together at 2166 Grand Road, Fort Scott, in a house that Bollinger bought in August 2008. Brenna had a son from a...
PER CURIAM : This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against the respondent, James A. Cline, of Wichita, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 1990. On July 2, 2014, 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 on July 30, 2014. Respondent also entered into a...
The opinion of the court was delivered by BEIER , J. : This appeal addresses whether a Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company policy issued to the Kansas State High School Activities Association provided coverage for catastrophic personal injury suffered by 10th grader Jesus Rodriguez. We hold that coverage exists. We therefore reverse contrary rulings by the district court judge and a panel of our Court of Appeals, and we remand the case to the district court for further proceedings. FACTUAL...
The opinion of the court was delivered by JOHNSON , J. : After suffering severe injuries from an automobile accident, Jeremy Wiles filed a claim for benefits under a hospital intensive care policy issued to him by the American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (AFLAC). AFLAC denied the claim under the policy's intoxication exclusion, relying in large part on a hospital toxicology report indicating that Wiles had a blood alcohol concentration of .25 within 2 hours of the accident....
The opinion of the court was delivered by LUCKERT , J. : The question presented in this case mirrors one addressed in our decision in Wesley Med. Center v. City of Wichita, 237 Kan. 807 , 703 P.2d 818 (1985). There, a hospital attempted to collect payment from a city and a county for the medical expenses incurred in treating an indigent criminal offender brought to the hospital while in the custody of the city's police officers. The city argued the county sheriff was responsible for...
PER CURIAM : This court accepted this case on the petition for review filed by defendant Heather Page Hilton for the specific purpose of deciding whether both the first and second of Hilton's two consecutive 12-month probation terms could be revoked as a result of a violation that occurred during the first 12 months. A panel of our Court of Appeals had affirmed the district court's revocation of both of Hilton's probation terms. State v. Hilton, 49 Kan.App.2d 586, 311 P.3d 1161 (2013)....
The opinion of the court was delivered by BILES , J. : Cody Steven Funk appeals from the imposition of lifetime postrelease supervision following his guilty plea and conviction of one count of attempted indecent solicitation of a child. His plea arises from criminal charges filed against him following his sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl. Funk contends lifetime postrelease supervision is disproportionate as applied to him, constituting cruel and/or unusual punishment in violation...
