WICHITA, Kan — A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment.

If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns, including homemade automatic weapons that many police and prosecutors blame for fueling gun violence.

Broomes, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted last year. Morgan was accused of possessing a model AM-15 .300-caliber machine gun and a machine gun conversion device known as a “Glock switch” that can make a semi-automatic weapon fire like a machine gun.

“The court finds that the Second Amendment applies to the weapons charged because they are ‘bearable arms’ within the original meaning of the amendment,” Broomes wrote. He added that the government “has the burden to show that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical firearm regulation tradition.”

As of Friday, no appeal had been filed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita declined comment.

“The Glock switch has been illegal since 1986 for any civilians to own it. Outside of military and law-enforcement, it was illegal. This new case that has occurred has kind of set a new precedent in that regard,” said Josh Bowler, manager at The Bullet Stop in Wichita.

Bowers said Glock switches are also deadly.

“Spray and pray, you’re putting a lot of rounds down range, a lot of lead down range and you lose control. Accuracy is just not there, semiautomatic is going to be a lot more controlled, a lot more accurate,” he said.

Federal prosecutors in the case said in earlier court filings that the “Supreme Court has made clear that regulations of machineguns fall outside the Second Amendment.”

A June 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was seen as a major expansion of gun rights. The ruling said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

Jacob Charles, an associate law professor at Pepperdine University who tracks Second Amendment cases, said the Kansas ruling is direct fallout from the Bruen decision.

“It gives lower court judges the ability to pick and choose the historical record in a way that they think the Second Amendment should be read,” Charles said.

Charles expects Broomes’ ruling to be overturned, citing Supreme Court precedent allowing for
regulation of machine guns.

Defense Attorney Dan Monnat who is not associated with the Wichita case, said moving forward, others charged with possession will try to use this ruling to their benefit.

“I presume everybody accused of possessing machine guns will use this case as precedent to contend that the cases can’t be prosecuted,” he said.

But he said this case is not yet settled law.

“No, unless double jeopardy attaches, the government can appeal this case to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or ask for review in the United States Supreme Court,” Monnat said.

Communities across the U.S. have dealt with a surge of shootings carried out with weapons converted to fully automatic in recent years. These weapons are typically converted using small pieces of metal made with a 3D printer or ordered online.

Guns with conversion devices have been used in several mass shootings, including one that left four dead at a Sweet Sixteen party in Alabama last year and another that left six people dead in a bar district in Sacramento, California, in 2022. In Houston, police officer William Jeffrey died in 2021 after being shot with a converted gun while serving a warrant.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available, the Associated Press reported in March.

See full story at KWCH.com

AUGUSTA, Kan. — Questions still linger after two Augusta teens arrested in connection to the murder of 93-year-old Joanne Johnson. There are a lot of factors that go into whether prosecutors will attempt to try the suspects in this murder case as adults. The real question is, how realistic is it? And, how realistic is it they will succeed?

Wichita attorney Dan Monnat says prosecutors will have to jump through a lot of hoops. First, Monnat says it is important to remember that juveniles are not adults. Only in extreme cases will a prosecutor ask a judge to treat a child as an adult.

“In that circumstance, the prosecutor has to file a motion and the judge has to find by the greater weight of the evidence that the community will be better served by the child being treated as an adult,” Monnat said.

There are several key factors for a judge to consider when making that decision, including the
seriousness of the crime.

“Whether the offense is against a person or a piece of property, whether the offense is committed in an extremely aggressive, violent or premeditated way,” Monnat said.

The judge will also consider the juvenile’s homelife and upbringing and their mental status.

But will that happen? It’s hard to know.

“Not every case is the same. Not every murder case is the same,” Monnat says. “I don’t think there is any way we could generalize to say that yes, fair-minded, wise prosecutors always seek an adult prosecution where a juvenile is arrested or accused of murder.”

Monnat says that if the suspects are tried as adults they could face life in prison. However, if they are tried as juveniles, they would face a minimum of 60 months in a Kansas juvenile correctional complex with a maximum imprisonment until they are 22 ½ years old.

They could also receive both a juvenile and adult sentence and the adult sentence would be stayed. But if they do violate the conditions of the juvenile system, they would receive that adult sentence.

See full story at KWCH.com

Three attorneys of Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, have been honored by Best Lawyers in America® 2025, including firm President Dan Monnat, who was named to the prestigious list for the 37th consecutive year.

Dan Monnat has practiced throughout Kansas and the United States for nearly 50 years, waging relentless defenses for clients facing high-stakes trials, grand juries, federal and state appellate courts, and regulatory/governmental investigations. First named to the Best Lawyers in America list in 1989, Monnat makes his 37th consecutive appearance on the list of legal luminaries, this year recognized for his work in Criminal Defense-General Practice; Criminal Defense-White Collar; Bet-the-Company Litigation; and Appellate Practice.

A prolific author and lecturer on criminal defense topics, Monnat is a cum laude graduate of California State University, with a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. He is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College.

Stan Spurrier, who co-founded the firm with Monnat in 1985, was recognized by Best Lawyers in the areas of Appellate Practice; Criminal Defense: General Practice; and Criminal Defense: White-Collar.

Well-known for his keen legal scholarship, Spurrier earned his bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Washburn University School of Law.

Eli O’Brien is an associate attorney whose trial practice includes defense of serious felony accusations, as well as significant DUI / DWI cases. He was honored by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Criminal Defense: General Practice; Criminal Defense: White-Collar; and DUI / DWI Defense.

Before joining Monnat & Spurrier in 2015, O’Brien was a trial attorney with the Sedgwick County Public Defender’s Office. O’Brien is a graduate of Washburn University School of Law and the National Criminal Defense College Trial Practice Institute at Roger Williams School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island.