TOPEKA—District Judge Mike Ward of the 13th Judicial District has been appointed to sit with the Kansas Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in four cases on the court's October 31 docket. After hearing oral arguments, Ward will join Supreme Court justices in their deliberations and decision drafting.
“I am pleased that District Judge Ward is taking time from his duties in the 13th Judicial District to sit with the Supreme Court,” said Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. “It's a great help to our court, and we look forward to his contributions in deliberating and eventually deciding this case.”
Ward been a district judge since 1999 in the 13th Judicial District, composed of Butler, Greenwood, and Elk counties.
Since 2000 he has served on the Pattern Jury Instructions for Kansas criminal and civil committees; their task is to review changes in the law and incorporate those changes into jury instructions for use in all district courts. Ward has chaired both committees for several years. He also served on the Supreme Court Client Protection Fund Committee from 2012 to 2018. Ward previously served on panels with the Kansas Supreme Court and Kansas Court of Appeals.
Ward graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1980 and worked in the enforcement division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City, Mo. In 1983 he returned to his hometown of El Dorado where he was in private practice and also joined the prosecutor’s office. From 1983 to 1999 he served first as an assistant county attorney and then as county attorney for Butler County.
In 1995 Ward was recognized by the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association as the state’s outstanding prosecutor, largely for his work in successfully prosecuting a number of high profile first-degree murder cases.
“It is my privilege and honor to serve with the Kansas Supreme Court,” Ward said. “I look forward to playing a small role in assisting the Court with its important work.”
All Supreme Court oral arguments are webcast live through the Watch Supreme Court Live! link in the right-hand column of the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org.
The cases Ward will hear October 31:
Appeal No. 118,180: State of Kansas v. Londro Emanuel Patterson III
Johnson County: (Criminal Appeal) For the robbery of a gun store, a jury convicted Patterson of first-degree felony murder, an off-grid felony; conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, a level five person felony; attempted aggravated robbery, a level five person felony; and aggravated battery, a level seven person felony. The district court sentenced Patterson to a hard-25 life sentence for the first-degree murder count to run consecutively to a controlling 94-month prison sentence for the remaining counts. Patterson appealed. Issues on appeal are whether: 1) K.S.A. 21-5402(a)(2) violates a defendant's due process rights by creating an impermissible mandatory presumption and invading the province of the jury; 2) the district court erred in instructing the jury that if the State proved all of the elements of the crimes charged that it had a "duty" to follow the law and "should" find Patterson guilty, which are incorrect statements of the law; 3) the prosecutor made erroneous legal statements by telling potential jurors during voir dire they had "an obligation to follow the law" and could not "go back and debate" the law; 4) a life sentence imposed on a 19-year-old for a killing committed by another is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and §9 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights; and 5) the district court violated Patterson's Sixth and 14th Amendment rights under Apprendi v. New Jersey when it sentenced him to an increased sentence for counts two, three, and four based on his prior criminal history without requiring the State to put it before a jury and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Appeal No. 115,650: John Balbirnie v. State of Kansas
Franklin County: (Petition for Review) In 2011, a jury found Balbirnie guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Paul Nicholson. The Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court denied his petition for review. In 2015, Balbirnie filed a motion pursuant to K.S.A. 60-1507 alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court conducted an extensive evidentiary hearing but denied the motion. On appeal, Balbirnie challenged his conviction on the ground his trial counsel provided inadequate representation. The Court of Appeals stated Balbirnie's attorney made one significant error by failing to get admitted into evidence a recording of a 911 call to police. The witness who called the police said her fiancé stabbed Nicholson. The Court of Appeals stated that would have been important evidence to present to the jury but held Balbirnie failed to show a reasonable probability the trial outcome would have been different and thus there was no prejudice. Issue on review is whether the district court and Court of Appeals erred in denying Balbirnie's motion filed under K.S.A. 60-1507 alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.
Appeal No. 117,747: State of Kansas v. Marvin L. Gray
Sedgwick County: (Criminal Appeal) Gray was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, and aggravated burglary in the death of a woman. Gray acknowledged drug use and a sexual relationship with the woman but denied killing her. There were no witnesses except the woman's 3-year-old daughter. A jury convicted Gray on all charges except for aggravated criminal sodomy. The district court sentenced Gray to a hard-50 life sentence, consecutive to a 301-month prison sentence. Issues on appeal are whether: 1) Gray should have been sentenced as if he had been convicted of second-degree murder because all his intentional murders were premeditated; 2) the district court erred in admitting evidence of prior crimes under K.S.A.60-455; 3) the district court erred by not instructing the jury on the lesser included offense of intentional second-degree murder; and 4) cumulative error denied Gray a fair trial.
Appeal No. 117,436: State of Kansas v. Dale M. Willis
Johnson County: (Criminal Appeal)The State charged Willis with first-degree premediated murder for the shooting death of Jurl Carter during a fight and exchange of gunfire. Willis did not kill Carter, but the State theorized he told his brother James Willis to kill Carter. The jury convicted as charged, and the court sentenced Dale Willis to a hard-50 life sentence. Issues on appeal are whether: 1) the district court's rulings on objections made during closing argument denied Willis' ability to argue a defense; 2) the jury instructions properly informed the jury on how to consider an aiding and abetting theory of defense; 3) the jury instructions accurately stated the law on self-defense; 4) the State committed prosecutorial error in closing argument; 5) the district court erred in allowing improper opinion testimony; 6) the district court erred in allowing admission of evidence pertaining to Willis' brother; 7) cumulative error denied Willis a fair trial; 8) the district court violated the language of the statute by sentencing Willis to a hard-50 life sentence; and 9) the district court abused its discretion in sentencing Willis to a hard-50 life sentence.