The Kansas Prosecutor The official publication of the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association Volume 11, No. 1, Spring 2014 2013-2014 KCDAA Board Barry Wilkerson Marc Goodman Marc Bennett President Vice President Secretary/Treasurer Riley County Attorney Lyon County Attorney Sedgwick County District Attorney Steve Howe Ellen Mitchell Douglas McNett Director I Director II Director III Johnson County District Attorney Saline County Attorney Pawnee County Assistant County Attorney Chairs & Representatives Justin Edwards CLE Committee Chair Assistant Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Goodman Legislative Committee Chair Lyon County Attorney Chris Smith Mark Frame Jerome Gorman Director IV Past President NDAA Representative Cowley County Attorney Edwards County Attorney Wyandotte County District Attorney 2 The Kansas Prosecutor Spring 2014 The Kansas Prosecutor The official publication of the Kansas The Kansas Prosecutor County and District Attorneys Association The official publication of the Kansas County Published by the Kansas County and District and District Attorneys Association Attorneys Association, 1200 S.W. Tenth Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66604. Phone: (785) 232-5822 Fax: (785) 234-2433 Volume 11, No. 1, Spring 2014 Table of Contents President’s Column: KCDAA Issues by Barry Wilkerson ............................................................................................. 4 Kansas Prosecutors Foundation Award and Golf Outing ............................. 5 Our mission: The purpose of the KCDAA is to promote, Legislator’s Column: From the KS House Corrections and improve and facilitate the administration Juvenile Justice Committee of justice in the state of Kansas. by Rep. John Rubin ............................................................................................. 7 For questions or comments about Guest Column: 2014 Public Safety Legislation: Advancing the Ball this publication, please contact the editor: by KS AG Derek Schmidt .................................................................................... 9 Mary Napier [email protected] KCDAA Member Highlight: County Attorneys in Two Counties (785) 783-5494 by Amanda Voth ................................................................................................ 11 Board of Editors KCDAA Milestones ......................................................................................... 13 John Settle Jerome Gorman Barry Wilkerson Mary Napier An Introduction to Abusive Head Trauma Prosecutions by Christopher Smith ........................................................................................ 14 Advisory Council Megan Weingart Kim Parker Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision Amanda Voth Angela Wilson by Matthew Billinger ......................................................................................... 19 KCDAA Administrative Staff Steve Kearney, Executive Director NDAA Spring Report Leisa Shepherd Kellie Kearney by Jerome Gorman ............................................................................................ 22 Patrick Vogelsberg Kari Presley 2014 KCDAA Spring Conference .................................................................. 23 This magazine is dedicated to professional prosecutors across the state of Kansas for public information. The KCDAA and the members of the Editorial Board assume no responsibility for any opinion or statement of fact in the substantive legal articles published in The Kansas Prosecutor. We welcome About the Cover your comments, suggestions, questions, information, etc. From time to time, The Kansas Prosecutor will publish The contract to build the first Norton County articles dealing with controversial issues. The views Courthouse in 1888 was awarded to Kuhn and expressed in The Kansas Prosecutor are those of the authors Waller of Norton, Kan. for the sum of $24,872. This and may not reflect the official policy of the KCDAA. Send courthouse served the county for many years until it correspondence to: The Kansas Prosecutor editor, 1200 S.W. was destroyed by fire on the night of December 1, Tenth Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66604 or e-mail Mary Napier 1926. After the fire, the county commissioners rented at [email protected]. the American Legion building on Main Street. © The Kansas Prosecutor All rights reserved In August 1928, voters approved erecting a new courthouse and a bond issue. The general contractor Photocopying, reproduction or quotation is strictly for the building was Gurtler & Co. of Topeka, Kan. prohibited without the written consent from the publisher or The total cost of the building, jail and furnishings was Editorial Board. Unsolicited material and/or correspondence $208,576. Moving-in day was December 20, 1929. cannot be acknowledged or returned, and becomes the This building still serves the county. property of The Kansas Prosecutor. Photo by John D. Morrison, Prairie Vistas Photography Spring 2014 The Kansas Prosecutor 3 President’s Column by Barry Wilkerson, KCDAA President Riley County Attorney KCDAA Issues This past October, I became president of that they would not necessarily want public; 3) it the KCDAA and I am closing in on the halfway could interfere with a defendant’s right to a fair trial point. Just prior to becoming president, I had in the county the crime occurred; 4) prosecutors an opportunity to see prosecutors from another would have the burden of seeking that information jurisdiction in action. Ellen Mitchell and Christina be withheld from the public realm, and we would be Trochek successfully tried a Child Abuse/Felony responsible for the redacting at our cost, of course. Murder case (Antonio Brown) here in Riley County There were additional arguments against disclosure on a change of venue out of Saline County. Being of affidavits, however the bill passed out of the inquisitive, I wanted to see some of the evidence House and headed to the Senate. We anticipate Ellen and Christina would be presenting. Ellen there will be changes to life as we have known it, but showed me the pictures of their deceased victim, the board is committed to, at a minimum, mitigating which among other ghastly injuries, included layers the damage. The KCDAA will keep our members of bruises on the child’s bottom (one inch thick). I posted as your responsibilities will be affected if this have seen my share of autopsy photographs, but bill passes. these were the worst in my 24 years. I left town The legislature has been looking at our homicide before the trial concluded, but found myself as penalties in addition to the Hard 50 legislation anxious for the outcome or verdict as if the case that Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office was were a Riley County case. It provided one of those successful in pushing through last fall. The KCDAA up close reminders, that regardless of where the has asked the legislature to look at the penalties crime occurs, a victim is victim and we KCDAA on all of the homicide statutes, and we may see an members are all in this together. increase in Felony Murder and Premeditated Murder. This has been a busy legislative session, and it Transferring probation to the defendant’s county appears KCDAA made a wise decision in submitting of residence, penalties on juvenile crimes and raising a limited number of bills so that we could respond the age limit for which a juvenile can be prosecuted to the flurry of bills, some good and some bad, as an adult have all been topics of bills and are still sponsored by others. A two-day shutdown of the being monitored. Another attempt was made to legislature in early February caused a board meeting make drastic changes to the Competency statutes, to be cancelled and a hurry up-catch up process as however we believe John Settle’s testimony along hearings were rescheduled and deadlines approached with the written testimony of others, may have once for the submission of bills. again thwarted changes that would have brought HB 2555 is a bill that would open up affidavits the criminal justice system to a halt. It would have on both search warrants and arrest warrants. What created very expensive, grinding delays had the bill started out as bill to give home owners, or those gotten any traction and passed. whose residence or premises were searched access to Patrick Vogelsberg, the KCDAA’s point person the affidavit, then became a bill the media took great in the legislature has been very busy trying to keep interest in seeing opened to the public. The KCDAA track of bills that will affect KCDAA members. opposed this bill for a number of reasons: 1) the bill Patrick monitors the progress of various bills and could put prosecutors in conflict with KRPC rules hearing dates, and gets our written testimony to 3.6 and 3.8, which limits disclosure of facts and the chairpersons of the various committees in the evidence; 2) It would release information on victims legislature. Once again Patrick, thanks for your 4 The Kansas Prosecutor Spring 2014 efforts in the legislature and your cell phone number. information about the conference speakers, hotel and It has been a lifesaver for the KCDAA President. other details. On the bright side, the Spring KCDAA As I finish this article, the current temperature conference is scheduled for June 12 and 13 in here in Manhattan is 6 degrees. Although I am not a Wichita. We will update everyone on the 2014 meteorologist, I am most certain the weather on June legislative session during the conference. See 12 will be much more pleasant than 6 degrees