Kansas “Marketable Gas” After Cooper-Clark: Express Royalty Clauses Control; Marketability Is a Fact Question and the Marketable Condition Rule Is a Gap-Filler 1. Introduction Case: Cooper-Clark...
Martin v. City of Topeka: Street-Maintenance Duty as a Specific Duty; Public-Duty Doctrine Survives the KTCA; No Discretion to Ignore Known Street Hazards 1. Introduction In Martin v. City of Topeka...
State v. Contreras: No “Itemized” Jury-Waiver Requirement for Apprendi Age Facts When the Defendant Pleads and Admits the Charging Document 1. Introduction In State v. Contreras (Kan. Sept. 11,...
K.S.A. 22-3430 Commitment Is In Lieu of Sentencing and Cannot Be Imposed Simultaneously with a KSGA Prison Sentence Case: State v. Hunter, No. 128,056 (Kan. Sept. 11, 2026) Court: Supreme Court of...
State v. Trickle: Admissibility of Suicide “Relative Risk” Expert Testimony, Strict Objection Specificity, and Limits on “Liar” Rhetoric in Closing Court: Supreme Court of Kansas Date: September 11,...
Setoff in Probate Requires an Enforceable Debt Owed to the Estate; “Shall Not Collect” Eliminates Setoff Case: In re Estate of Mueller (Kan. 2026-09-04) Court: Supreme Court of Kansas Core holding...
Rogers v. Moll: Kansas Affirms “Instructions as a Whole” Can Satisfy Causation Without a Standalone Definition—and Flags PIK’s “Fault” Framing in Single-Defendant Negligence Trials 1. Introduction...
State v. Barnes: Plain-View “Immediately Apparent” Probable Cause for a Smoked-Down Blunt and General Consent to Search a Person Encompasses Pocket Searches I. Introduction In State v. Barnes (Kan....
Pure Self-Defense Only Negates Criminal-Discharge Predicate Felony Murder; “Light Most Favorable” Applies Even to Unrequested Instructions Introduction State v. Banks is a direct appeal from Sedgwick...
State v. Cavitt: Kidnapping “Facilitation” Returns to the Statute—State v. Buggs Overruled Introduction In State v. Cavitt (Kan. Aug. 28, 2026), the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Shannon Berry Cavitt...
Successive K.S.A. 21-2512 DNA Petitions: “At Any Time” Means Not Barred by Res Judicata When New Grounds Are Raised, but Retesting Requires Specific “New Technique” Pleading and Testing Still Must Be...
State v. Willard: Fourth Amendment Seizure Analysis Must Account for Non-Police Government Actors (Fire/EMS) Under the Totality of Circumstances 1. Introduction In State v. Willard (Kan. Aug. 21,...
State v. Sims (Kan. 2026): Noncompliance with a Supreme Court Remand-Filing Order Can Forfeit Review and Leave an Adverse Prejudice Finding Intact 1. Introduction State v. Sims, No. 114,959 (Kan....
State v. Brown (Kan. 2026): Disapproving “Fundamental Failure” and Re-Centering Mistrial Review on Abuse of Discretion Under K.S.A. 22-3423(1)(c) Case: State v. Brown, No. 128,178 (Kan. Aug. 14,...
Kansas Supreme Court’s Inherent Authority to Correct Its Own Opinion and Mandate Case: State v. Borders (Kan. Aug. 7, 2026) | Court: Supreme Court of Kansas 1. Introduction State v. Borders arises...
State v. Manczuk: Statute of Limitations Is Waivable (Not Jurisdictional) and Cannot Be Revived on Appeal as “Sufficiency” Court: Supreme Court of Kansas Date: July 24, 2026 Case: State v. Manczuk,...
State v. West (Kan. 2026): Joinder Requires Multiple Commonalities; K.S.A. 60-455 Admissibility Not a Prerequisite 1. Introduction In State v. West (Supreme Court of Kansas, July 24, 2026), Laroy M....
State v. Scott: Enumerated Jessica’s Law Mitigators Must Be Considered; Erroneous Exclusion Is Subject to Harmless-Error Review 1. Introduction In State v. Scott (Kan. 2026), the Kansas Supreme Court...
Postconviction DNA Testing Denied When Testing Cannot Yield Noncumulative, Exculpatory Evidence (Kansas K.S.A. 21-2512) 1. Introduction In State v. Dotson (Kan. July 24, 2026), the Kansas Supreme...
State v. Barker (Kan. 2026): Invited Error Requires an Affirmative Omission/Refusal of Jury Instructions; Nonrequested Lesser-Included Instructions Are Reviewed for Clear Error Introduction In State...