Jordan v. Jordan
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2012-04-12 · cited 12×
In Jordan v. Jordan, the Kansas Court of Appeals reviewed a district court’s order extending a protection from abuse (PFA) order against Roy Jordan for one additional year, which Shannon Jordan had requested during their divorce proceedings. The district court granted the extension after an evidentiary hearing, citing Shannon’s continued subjective fear of Roy, incidents such as hospital and school encounters, and the need to maintain peace between the parties. On appeal, Roy argued that the extension lacked substantial competent evidence and improperly relied on subjective beliefs. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 60-3107(e)’s use of “may” grants the trial court discretion to extend a PFA order, that such orders are inherently subjective, and that the district court (the same judge who issued the original order) did not abuse its discretion under the circumstances.
family law
State v. Perkins
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2011-07-15 · cited 2×
In State v. Perkins, Thomas Perkins was convicted by a jury of felony DUI (his fourth offense), driving with a suspended license, and open containers after being found intoxicated in the driver's seat of a parked truck on the highway shoulder. Perkins appealed the DUI and license convictions, arguing insufficient evidence for alternative means of committing the offenses and challenging the mandatory fine. The court affirmed the DUI conviction, holding that the evidence supported both operating and attempting to operate the vehicle under K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 8-1567 without needing to import the general attempt statute's definition, and that jurors need not agree on the specific means. It reversed the license suspension conviction due to lack of evidence on the alternative means of a cancelled or revoked license (only suspension was shown) and vacated the fine, remanding for the trial court to consider community service as an alternative per precedent.
criminal law
City of Overland Park v. Rhodes
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2011-07-08 · cited 1×
The case involved Kelly K. Rhodes's appeal of her DUI conviction arising from a 2008 Overland Park police checkpoint stop on Metcalf Avenue, where officers observed signs of impairment, conducted field sobriety tests, and obtained a breath alcohol reading of .115. The Court of Appeals of Kansas affirmed the conviction, ruling that the checkpoint satisfied the multi-factor balancing test from State v. Deskins for Fourth Amendment reasonableness because officers exercised limited discretion, the operation followed superior directives, and it was effective for detecting impaired drivers. The court further held that the Intoxilyzer 8000 results were admissible, as the administering officer complied with KDHE observation and certification requirements.
criminal lawprocedure
STABEL v. Meyer
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2011-05-27 · cited 1×
This case concerned a dispute between unmarried parents over changing their child's surname as part of a paternity action filed under the Kansas Parentage Act. The father sought to have the child's last name changed from the mother's to his own, but the mother did not consent; the district court held an evidentiary hearing and ordered the change based on the child's best interests. On appeal, the mother argued that the KPA provided no statutory authority for a court to alter a child's name without both parents' agreement, citing conflicting prior appellate decisions. The Court of Appeals reviewed the relevant statutes, including K.S.A. 38-1130, and controlling precedents such as In re Marriage of Killman, concluding that the KPA limits name changes to situations involving joint parental consent and does not authorize unilateral changes in paternity proceedings. The court therefore reversed the district court's order.
family law
Edwards v. Boeing Co.
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2007-03-30
This case involved a Kansas workers' compensation dispute where claimant Donald Edwards sought review and modification of awards for two work-related injuries at Boeing: a 1998 back injury and a 2001 neck injury, both resulting in settlements subject to later adjustment. After being laid off in 2004 due to medical restrictions, the Workers Compensation Board awarded him 100% wage loss work disability under both claims and granted Boeing a credit to avoid duplicate benefits. The Court of Appeals affirmed the work disability award for the back injury claim, finding it attributable to permanent restrictions from that injury for which Boeing had provided accommodations. However, it reversed the award for the neck injury claim, holding there was no substantial evidence of increased functional impairment or task loss from the neck injury at the time of layoff, as Edwards had no ongoing neck restrictions and all disability stemmed from the first injury. The court remanded for modification of the order accordingly.
labor & employment
In Re the Adoption of A.A.T.
Court of Appeals of Kansas · 2006-12-22 · cited 7×
This case concerns an alleged biological father's attempt to set aside a finalized adoption of child A.A.T. on grounds that the natural mother concealed the pregnancy and provided false information, preventing him from receiving notice and participating in the proceedings. The adoptive parents appealed the district court's decision that DNA testing to confirm paternity could proceed without first holding a best-interests hearing under In re Marriage of Ross. The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Ross best-interests analysis applies only to scenarios involving displacement of a presumed father in a marital dissolution context and does not extend to adoption challenges where the adoptive parents assert no biological tie. The court further reasoned that statutory presumptions of paternity based on support obligations or adoption decrees do not bar testing when the underlying adoption's validity is contested as void as to the biological father. The matter was remanded for resumption of proceedings after DNA testing.
family lawprocedure