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April 2024
Click here to read the status of the KSSC bills from the 2024 Kansas Legislative Session.
KSSC Congratulates Executive Director Scott Schultz
Domo, a cloud-based data management platform company, announced that Scott Schultz, Executive Director of the Kansas Sentencing Commission, has been named the recipient of Domo’s 2024 Community Ovation Award for Most Innovative Business App.
The Domo Ovation Awards recognize customers who leverage Domo's platform to achieve outstanding results. Mr. Schultz was selected for his innovative implementation of a Domo-powered application that will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Kansas Sentencing Commission's data analysis capabilities. To read more, click here.
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KSSC is happy to report that the majority of Kansas CSOs have their profiles set up for the new Kansas Sentencing App (KSApp) and have been practicing with exercise PSIs and even using current cases as practice to test the new system. Additionally, KSSC has worked with attorneys and judges in a few pilot districts and the AG's office. We have received positive feedback and have even found some improvements along the way based on user feedback that will help make the KSApp as efficient as possible. In the near future, KSSC will be working with all attorneys and judges who work felony criminal cases in Kansas. Thank you to our pilot districts and all of the CSOs, for your patience and dedication to getting the KSApp ready for implementation!
If you have any questions, please contact Jason Lamprecht.
This resource is provided by the KSSC and can be found here. This Q&A section represents some of the questions that KSSC frequently receives from stakeholders. It is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. If you have a specific question, please email ksscattorney@ks.gov.
KSSC is hiring for the position of SB 123 Director! Please click here to view the job description and apply.
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Recent Cases Affecting Sentencing in Kansas*
- The Kansas Court of Appeals recently considered multiple issues regarding the Kansas RICO Act in State v. Dixon, some of which are listed below. The COA stated that, “The Kansas RICO Act is substantially similar to the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., both in its purpose and the specific conduct it proscribes. State v. Dixon, No. 125,992, 2024 WL 1335680 at *3 (Kan. App. March 29, 2024). Additionally, the Dixon court held that, “the fact that the statute does not distinguish between adult convictions or juvenile adjudications suggests that racketeering activity is not limited to adult convictions but encompasses any violations of the listed offenses. Id. at 6. Thus, the COA found that the Kansas RICO Act's definition of racketeering activity includes juvenile adjudications. See id at 7. Furthermore, the court found that a RICO offense is a continuing offense. See id. at 8. Because he was an adult at the time he was charged and when he committed the final racketeering activity, the State could charge Dixon as an adult—even though the charge contained two alleged predicate racketeering activities he committed as a juvenile. Id.
- In a case where the district court rejected a plea agreement that allowed a defendant to plead to a lesser DUI offense than what was originally charged, the COA held K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 8-1567(n) prohibits parties from negotiating a plea that avoids mandatory penalties for prior DUI convictions and the district court properly sentenced him based on the accurate, applicable number of prior DUI convictions reflected in his criminal history.” See State v. Kihega, No. 125,993, 2024 WL 397371 at *1 (Kan. App. February 2, 2024)(unpublished opinion).
- In a case where the defendant was sentenced to a KORA Violation, the Kansas Court of Appeals found that the district court erred in attributing 130 of the days to the defendant’s probation case that was closed pursuant to the plea because the defendant was entitled to jail credit for all time spent in custody awaiting the conclusion of her case as jail credit toward the sentence imposed for her KORA violation. See State v. Gutierrez, No. 125,073, 2024 WL 1338948 at *3 (Kan. App. March 29, 2024) (unpublished opinion).
- The Kansas Court of Appeals recently found that a defendant’s prior court-martialed offenses did not support a weapons conviction because the statute requires the State to prove a prior misdemeanor conviction, but the evidence showed only court-martialed offenses. See State v. Gachelin, No. 125,859, 2024 WL 1231215 at *1 (Kan. App. March 22, 2024) (unpublished opinion).
*This is not an exhausted list of cases affecting sentencing. To view all recent cases, click here.
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