TOPEKA—Kansas Court of Appeals judges will hear appeals by videoconference Thursday, August 13. The oral arguments will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Judge Sarah Warner is the presiding judge and is joined by Judges Melissa Taylor Standridge and Kathryn Gardner for the August 13 docket.
9 a.m. • August 13, 2020
Appeal No. 120,477: State of Kansas v. Kevin K. Beasley
Johnson County: After Beasley pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery in 2009, the court imposed an underlying prison sentence of 28 months but granted Beasley probation for a term of 18 months. The court also ordered Beasley to pay $21,428.50 in restitution. From 2009 to 2016, Beasley's probation was extended on multiple occasions based in whole or in part on Beasley's failure to pay restitution. In 2018, the district court revoked Beasley's probation for failing to report to his supervisor and for failing to pay restitution. On appeal from that decision, Beasley argues that K.S.A. 21-6608(c)(7) and the district court's 2014 order extending his probation violate Section 16 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, which prohibits incarceration for nonpayment of debt. Beasley also argues the district court improperly bypassed the intermediate sanction framework before ordering him to serve his underlying sentence. The State asks that Beasley's constitutional claims be dismissed and asserts the district court was not required to impose an intermediate sanction after finding Beasley did not want his probation reinstated.
10 a.m. • August 13, 2020
Appeal No. 122,147: In the Matter of the Marriage of John Thomas Lask and Kathryn Ulrich Lask
Johnson County: Following the couple’s divorce, the district court ordered John to pay monthly child support, some of which Kathryn was required to set aside each month in trust for the benefit of their children. John also had to pay a portion of the children's uninsured medical expenses. The district court entered a judgment against John for reimbursement of his share of certain uninsured medical expenses. On appeal, John argues the district court's judgment is erroneous because: 1) many of the expenses did not qualify as usual and ordinary medical expenses eligible for reimbursement; 2) he was not liable for the expenses that did qualify as usual and ordinary medical expenses due to an unreasonable delay in the requests for reimbursement; and 3) the court should have entered judgment in his favor for unaccounted-for trust funds.
1:30 p.m. • August 13, 2020
Appeal No. 121,447: Catherine Roll, a disabled person, by and through her co-guardians, Teresa Roll Kerwick and Mary Ann Burns v. Timothy E. Keck, secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, and Mike Dixon, superintendent of the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center
Sedgwick County: Roll is a patient at Parsons State Hospital, where she has lived for several decades. In 2016, the hospital sought to transfer Roll to a community-based treatment program. Her guardians opposed and sought to enjoin the transfer based on federal law. After trial, the court determined the proposed transfer did not violate provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Social Security Act. The district court also denied the request for an injunction after concluding community placement is a less-restrictive setting and Roll's needs can be met in such a placement. On appeal, Roll argues: 1) a transfer over her guardians' objections violates the Americans with Disabilities Act; 2) failing to let her choose to stay at the Hospital violates the Social Security Act; and 3) the district court relied on unsupported facts and ignored uncontroverted evidence when it denied the injunction.