New Kansas Supreme Court Opinion Cites Article by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols

  • Apr 08, 2013
  • Monnat & Spurrier

An article by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols has been cited in a new opinion by the Kansas Supreme Court.

Justice Lee A. Johnson, writing for the Court in State of Kansas v. Lawson, referred to Monnat and Nichols’ work in The Loneliness of the Kansas Constitution, published in September 2010 by the Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice, while discussing the Kansas Supreme Court’s authority to construe the Kansas constitution as more protective of individual rights than the federal constitution.

“I am pleased and honored that our article appears to have assisted the Court in its consideration of this important constitutional issue, and hope that our work will continue to be useful to the Court in the future,” said Monnat.

Jury Begins Deliberation in Puetz Trial

  • Apr 05, 2013
  • Kansas.com
  • -
  • by Hurst Laviana

“Monnat told the jury that before he was arrested, police had never considered Puetz to be a potential child sex molester. Despite all the publicity surrounding the case, Monnat said, no teenage girls have come forward to say that Puetz behaved improperly around them…”

Former Garden Plain Coach Testifies at His Sex Crimes Trial

  • Apr 03, 2013
  • The Wichita Eagle
  • -
  • by Hurst Laviana

“Did you electronically solicit anyone you believed to be less than 16 years of age?” defense lawyer Dan Monnat asked as former Garden Plain football coach Todd Puetz told a Sedgwick County jury that he wasn’t looking for sex …

Trial Underway for Former Garden Plain Coach

  • Apr 02, 2013
  • The Wichita Eagle
  • -
  • by Hurst Laviana

“Todd only intended to help them by giving them what money he had,” Dan Monnat said during his opening statement in the trial of a former football coach charged with electronic solicitation…. “The evidence will show that Todd is a flawed human being, but he is not a flawed human being who is guilty of the child sex crimes he’s accused of here today. Todd Puetz never had any interest in underage girls….”

KU Student Sues Frat Over Underage Drinking

  • Mar 20, 2013
  • KWCH TV
  • -
  • by Jim Grawe

Andrew Johnson claims that after a drinking party two other underage frat brothers rammed his head into a concrete wall. He claims the fraternity is responsible. Says Dan Monnat, “Likely, the student is hoping the tide has changed–that the law and jurors are coming down harder on the ‘animal house’ antics…

Police Dishonesty in the Courtroom: Dan Monnat’s Letter in the New York Times

  • Feb 11, 2013
  • NYTimes.com.

Our system openly embraces certain police lies, such as undercover lies and lies to induce confessions. Given that officers also lie under oath, one has to wonder: Does the acceptance of lying in the field have a spillover effect into the courtroom… It may be time to question our reflexive assumption that these lies are “good” lies. If we can nudge the police toward a stronger culture of honesty in the field, then perhaps we can better rely on them to maintain honesty in the courtroom.

Four Years Later, Arrest Made in Dodge City Girl’s Death

  • Jan 18, 2013
  • KWCH TV
  • -
  • by Kim Wilhelm

“The death of young Natalie Pickle was a tragic loss,” said attorney Dan Monnat, who represents Brock Cunningham, arrested on suspicion of first degree murder and child abuse. “Brock tried to save Natalie’s life that night. He has cooperated with law enforcement… he’s innocent and will proceed to jury trial…”

Arrest Made In Dodge City Child’s Cold Case Murder

  • Jan 18, 2013
  • KAKE TV

Brock W. Cunningham was charged with first-degree murder and one count of felony child abuse in the death of a Dodge City 3-year-old. Cunningham’s lawyer, Dan Monnat, said that Cunningham is innocent and tried to save the child’s life that night…

Kansas Sperm Donor Fights State on Child Support

  • Jan 02, 2013
  • KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
  • -
  • by Jim Grawe

The state of Kansas is demanding William Marotta of Topeka help support a lesbian couple’s three-year-old daughter. It’s a first of its kind in Kansas, and “the issue will be whether to follow the letter of the law or to carve out some kind of exception of the law based on the parties’ intent,” Dan Monnat says.