The Kansas Supreme Court today affirmed a Wyandotte County District Court sentence of a man for first-degree murder and aggravated robbery.
Timothy C. Bryant appealed a denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence in the case. A jury convicted Bryant in August 2006, and the Supreme Court upheld the convictions on direct appeal in 2008.
In a motion to correct an illegal sentence, Bryant argued his sentence was illegal because of changes made to the law after he was sentenced. He also claimed his sentence was unconstitutional.
In a ruling today, the Supreme Court rejected the arguments and affirmed the ruling of Judge J. Dexter Burdette. The court stated that the legality of a sentence is controlled by the law in effect at the time the sentence is imposed.
The court also said that a motion to correct an illegal sentence was an inappropriate vehicle to challenge the constitutionality of a sentence.
Today’s ruling is online at http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-Opinions/opinions/SupCt/2019/20191127/118848.pdf.
In another ruling handed down by the Kansas Supreme Court today, the court unanimously decided a new trial was not necessary although a judge in Sedgwick County “nodded off” during the first day of trial.
It was a case concerning criminal possession of a firearm, aggravated assault and felony criminal discharge of a firearm.
The Supreme Court said today it was an isolated incident where no objections were made. The jury decides whether the defendant is guilty, not the judge, the judge had explained to jurors during the trial.
The Supreme Court also held when a defendant stipulates to an element of a crime, the defendant has effectively waived the right to a jury determination of that element. Thus, a valid jury trial waiver — limited to the stipulated element or elements — is required. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals to consider the rest of the issues raised on appeal.