Kansas Court of Appeals - 102004 â State v. Lee

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4. When measured by a common understanding and practice, the word "predominantly" as used in the ordinance at issue in this case sufficiently conveys fair notice of the proscribed conduct and its use does not render the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. 5. A district court may grant a continuance to either party for good cause shown, and the decision to continue a criminal case lies within the sound discretion of the district court. A discretionary decision made by the court is protected if reasonable persons could differ upon the propriety of the decision. A district court may be found to have abused its discretion, however, if the decision failed to take into account the applicable legal standards. 6. When a request for a continuance has been made in order to secure attendance of a witness at trial, the factors relevant to a decision regarding that request include: the possible prejudice to the defendant, the diligence or lack thereof in attempting to secure the attendance of the witness, the materiality and importance of the probable testimony, and the probability of the witness' appearance at a later date if the continuance is granted. In this case, we find the district court applied the proper legal standard in deciding to deny the defendant's motion to continue and that reasonable persons could agree with this decision; thus, the district court did not err in denying a continuance. 7. If a party does not object to a jury instruction at trial, an appellate court reviews a claim that the instruction is erroneous under the clearly erroneous standard. Instructions are clearly erroneous only if the reviewing court is firmly convinced there is a real 2
possibility the jury would have rendered a different verdict if the trial error had not occurred. 8. The district court has broad discretion regarding the admission of demonstrative photographs. Once relevance is established, a district court has the discretion to exclude photographic evidence if the probative value of the photographs is substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice, or if the photographs are unduly repetitious and cumulative. 9. Whether jurisdiction exists is a question of law over which this court's scope of review is unlimited. When the record discloses a lack of jurisdiction, it is the duty of the appellate court to dismiss the appeal. Affirmed. Appeal from Wyandotte District Court; JOHN J. MCNALLY, judge. Opinion filed June 10, 2011. Heather Cessna, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant. Jerome A. Gorman, district attorney, and Steve Six, attorney general, for appellee. Before BUSER, P.J., MALONE and STANDRIDGE, JJ. STANDRIDGE, J.: Derrick Lee appeals his conviction by jury of involuntary manslaughter. For the reasons stated below, we affirm. 3
Page 1: No. 102,004 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
Page 5 and 6: Paramedics observed no signs of bre
Page 7 and 8: suggesting the dog had some nonguar
Page 9 and 10: At sentencing, the district court g
Page 11 and 12: In support of these assertions, Lee
Page 13 and 14: Significantly, the facts presented
Page 15 and 16: On March 25, 2008, the State receiv
Page 17 and 18: The evidence here also supports the
Page 19 and 20: defendant did not object to the ins
Page 21 and 22: probative value of the photographs
Page 23 and 24: explanation that the cause of death
Page 25 and 26: which this court's scope of review
Page 27: found under the cumulative error do

Kansas Court of Appeals - 102004 â State v. Lee

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Kansas Court of Appeals - 102004 â State v. Lee