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Improper joinder [NOT FINAL]

By Randall Hodgkinson

Janine Cox won in State v. Coburn, No. 96,210 (Kan. App. Feb. 1, 2008), obtaining a second new trial in a Wyandotte County aggravated indecent liberties with a child prosecution. The COA majority held that the state improperly tried unrelated offenses together in the same trial:

Under K.S.A. 22-3202(1), the legislature has set out three alternative conditions precedent (same or similar character; same act or transaction; or two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan) which must be met before a trial court may exercise its discretion to allow the joinder of charges. Because none of the conditions precedent under K.S.A. 22-3202(1) were met in this case, the charges should not have been joined as a matter of law. Further, the misjoinder of charges did not constitute harmless error because the highly inflammatory evidence used to prove the charge of sexual exploitation of a child was sufficiently prejudicial to deny the defendant a fair trial. Accordingly, we reverse Coburn's convictions and remand for separate trials.

We don't see a lot of reversals on joinder issues, but the COA did a detailed analysis in this case and held that the charges should not have been tried together. Some good language if you need to try to get some counts severed for trial.

Full post as published by Kansas Defenders on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).