Author Archives: «Monnat & Spurrier»

• Nov 16, 2014
• KSNW TV
• -
• by Chris Arnold

WICHITA, Kansas – While courts continue to hash out the decision, many same-sex couples are eagerly awaiting the chance to get married.

Martin Wilson said it’s been a whirlwind of emotions since Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court denied the State of Kansas appeal to stop same-sex marriage.

“You go through every bit of emotion when you find out that it’s unconstitutional, the ban has been lifted and you can finally get married,” said Wilson.

Wilson and his partner, David, have known each-other for 17 years.

“The fact of my partner and I being able to get married and other couples in Kansas that are going to be able to get married and have that equality.”

The ruling on same-sex marriage in Kansas hasn’t be completely cut and dry. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied all efforts by the State of Kansas to further delay the Kansas Federal Courts from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

KSN’s legal analyst Dan Monnat on Wednesday pointed out that the State of Kansas appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals will still go ahead, on the merits on whether or not the Kansas constitution and law prohibiting gay marriage are unconstitutional.

As for Wilson, he stressed how important it is to him to finally be able to marry his long-time partner.

“I feel like this is going to complete our life in a way it hasn’t been completed before and I think since we’ll have these same rights than it makes my life complete,” said Wilson.

Many same-sex couples are jumping at the chance to get married. There is a mass wedding ceremony set to be held here at the Sedgwick County Courthouse Monday evening, where more than a dozen couples finally plan to say “I do”.

The Kansas State Supreme Court will have a hearing on Monday to determine if the Johnson County district judge who said same-sex marriages are legal and can move forward is in fact legitimate.

The topic of whether that makes same-sex marriage legal in every county in the state will be discussed as well.

KSNW TV – By Chris Arnold

• Nov 12, 2014
• Monnat & Spurrier

WASHINGTON and WICHITA, Kansas (AP/KSN) — The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that same-sex marriages can go ahead in Kansas.

The nation’s highest court denied the state’s request to prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying while Kansas fights the issue in court. The state constitution includes a provision banning gay marriage, approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2005.

“So excited, still kind of an ohmigosh, it really happened, kind of day,” Donna DiTrani, one of the plaintiffs who filed the suit, said. “[I] didn’t ever know it would happen, just thought it would keep getting dragged on.”

“This might seem fast and quick for so many people for the last few weeks but the fact of the matter is a lot of people have been working on equality in Kansas for years,” Kerry Wilks, her partner and one of the other plaintiffs, added.

However, Kansas’ emergency appeal was closely watched to see if the court would change its practice following last week’s appellate ruling upholding anti-gay marriage laws in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Those cases now are headed to the Supreme Court, and the gay marriage issue nationwide could be heard and decided by late June.

The Supreme Court last month declined to hear cases from three appeals courts that had overturned gay marriage bans. Kansas, South Carolina and Montana all have refused to allow gay couples to obtain marriages licenses despite rulings from federal appeals courts that oversee them.

Kansas went to the Supreme Court after the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of two female same-sex couples. A judge issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing its gay-marriage ban, but the case hasn’t yet gone to trial.

The ACLU says Kansas’ ban violates the couples’ constitutionally protected rights to due legal process and equal legal protection. Gay-rights advocates saw the Supreme Court’s action Wednesday as another sign they’re likely to ultimately prevail.

“Now, this is a day to celebrate,” said Tom Witt, executive director of the gay rights group Equality Kansas.

Still, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt maintains the ruling applies only in Douglas and Sedgwick counties, because the ACLU’s lawsuit was prompted by judges’ orders there.

Legal analysts say it is important to note that the 7-2 ruling only overrules the stay on the federal court injunction blocking the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, while the case is awaiting hearing in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

“But while that decision proceeds, Kansas authorities must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” legal analyst Dan Monnat said.

The ACLU contends the decision applies in all 105 counties, but attorney Doug Bonney acknowledged some court clerks could resist.

A federal district judge last week blocked the state from enforcing its ban, saying it was in keeping with an earlier ruling by a federal appeals court that struck down bans in Oklahoma and Utah.

The judge’s ruling was supposed to go into effect Tuesday, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor temporarily put it on hold while the high court reviewed the case.

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas would have sided with the state.

The legal situation was complicated in Kansas because state Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed his own case with the Kansas Supreme Court, seeking to block marriage licenses for gay couples. The Kansas court blocked further licenses while it reviewed the case and its order is still in effect, making it unclear how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday will be applied in individual counties.

However, that proceeding would also be stayed pending action by the 10th Circuit, Monnat told KSN.

Schmidt’s case came after one county — prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court action last month — issued a license to a lesbian couple. The couple quickly wed, becoming the only known same-sex Kansas couple to do so.

Marriage licenses in Kansas are issued by district court clerks’ offices after a mandatory three-day wait.

Schmidt has promised to defend the state’s gay-marriage ban in court as long as he can, and fellow Republican Gov. Sam Brownback issued a statement suggesting he’s not giving up on defending the policy. Voters in 2005 overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Kansas Constitution against same-sex marriage.

“I swore an oath to support the Constitution of the State of Kansas,” Brownback said in a statement. “I will review this ruling with the attorney general and see how best we continue those efforts.”

Gay marriage is legal in 32 other states. In Missouri, a federal judge in Kansas City and a state judge in St. Louis each declared its ban unconstitutional, and gay-rights advocates urged the state’s attorney general not to appeal.

The Supreme Court on Oct. 6 refused to hear appeals from five states seeking to preserve their bans following adverse federal appeals court rulings. The states included Virginia, under the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals with South Carolina, and Oklahoma and Utah, which are with Kansas in the 10th Circuit.

Wednesday’s two-sentence order noted conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas would allow Kansas to continue enforcing its gay-marriage ban.

• Nov 05, 2014
• KSNW TV
• -
• by Brittany Glas

WICHITA, Kansas — As the debate over same-sex marriage continues in Kansas, the courtroom drama is getting more complicated with every filing.

October 10th was when things quickly got complicated for Kansas couples and courts, concerning gay marriage.

Fast forward almost one month, and the legal fight shows no promise of ending anytime soon.

Wichita couple Kerry Wilks and Donna Ditrani have been together for five years. Although in June 2012, they had a commitment ceremony, they want to be legally married in Kansas. That is why they’re fighting for same-sex marriage rights at the federal court level.

On Tuesday, a Federal Judge found that:

“defendants may not refuse to issue marriage licenses on the basis that applicants are members of the same sex.”– Marie v. Moser

The decision, beginning November 11th, could prevent the state from enforcing its same-sex marriage ban.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt Wednesday appealed that ruling.

Immediately following the announcement Tuesday, however, Derek Schmidt released the following statement related to the federal district court’s decision:

“The State of Kansas continues to have a strong interest in the orderly and final determination of the constitutionality of its prohibitions on same-sex marriage.  The state defendants will promptly appeal this decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and will ask for consideration by the full Circuit Court.  Such a request for en banc consideration was not previously made by either Utah or Oklahoma when their cases were heard by a three-judge panel of the appellate court.”

“The District Court recognized the weight of its decision to declare a provision of the Kansas Constitution in violation of the United States Constitution and thus unenforceable.  Kansas appreciates Judge Crabtree’s willingness to delay his order while the state defendants file their appeal.”

In a separate case, the Kansas State Supreme Court said Wednesday it will also delay a hearing originally scheduled for Thursday, November 6.

The state filed the action against Kansas 10th Judicial District Judge, Chief Judge Kevin P. Moriarty, when last month he granted a same-sex marriage license to a Johnson Co. couple, pointing to recent cases in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Utah that found gay marriage bans unconstitutional.

“It applies to the Kansas law the rulings of the 10th circuit on the Utah and Oklahoma laws because the Kansas law is virtually identical,” said legal analyst, Dan Monnat.

For a brief moment, the first-ever marriage between two women in the state of Kansas, was legal. That’s when Kansas’ high court temporarily blocked all new same-sex marriage licenses from being issued.

The hearing set for November 6th was delayed until the 15th. The 15th is the new deadline for both parties to present their case.

Read the latest filing from the State Attorney General’s office by clicking here.

Also on Wednesday, Missouri struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.

KSNW TV – By Brittany Glas

• Jul 30, 2014
• KSN TV

WICHITA, Kansas – Seth M. Jackson, 29, the foster father accused of leaving a 10-month-old child to die inside a hot car was charged on Wednesday in Sedgwick County Court with first-degree murder. An alternative count of second-degree murder charge has also been filed.

Seth Jackson’s mother shared a photo of the baby that died in a hot car with KSN on Friday.

The judge also stated that Jackson must not have any contact with anyone on the witness list, including his partner and his mother.

“This entire list, I can’t talk to anybody on that list, including my husband and my mother?” Jackson asked the judge.

The judge responded, “At this point that is correct.”

Bail for Jackson has been set at $250,000 with numerous conditions.

The next scheduled hearing for Jackson will be on August 13th at 9 a.m.

“After reviewing the case we determined these were appropriate charges based on the evidence,” Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County district attorney, said without further comment.

Kansas law calls for a first-degree murder charge when someone is killed intentionally and with premeditation or “in the commission of…any inherently dangerous felony.” In Jackson’s case, that could be the endangerment charge on which he was first held.

But Jackson’s defense lawyer, John Stang told NBC News that the facts of the case don’t support a murder rap, which carries a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

“Overcharged, in my opinion,” Stang said. “Rather high for a mistake. I’m not trying to say it’s not a horrible loss. The death of a child is an awful thing. But this person is looking at 15 more years than someone who was driving drunk and ran into a car and killed someone.”

Stang also went on to say that he has see no evidence that Jackson and his partner neglected or abused their two adopted children and four foster children.

Last week, Jackson was booked on suspicion of aggravated endangerment.

KSN asked legal expert Dan Monnat to comment on why he is being charged with first-degree murder instead of a lesser charge of aggravated child endangerment, which Jackson was arrested under suspicion of.

“What they’re saying is that he recklessly caused the child to be placed in a situation where the child was endangered and regrettably that resulted in the death. Elevating what otherwise would be ‘aggravated child endangerment’ to first-degree murder,” said Monnat.

The baby’s biological grandmother told NBC news that she was surprised by the murder charge.

“It blows my mind. He loved those kids and they loved him so much. I’m mad, but at the same time, accidents do happen. I’m sure he is beat down inside. It’s hard to say what the charge should be,” said grandmother Cindy Poe.

“Even if it’s taken from him legally, his heart will never be the same. It will break every time he holds a baby. It’s going to break every time he walks in there and sees the crib,” said Dottie, the mother of Jackson.

Police say he had “somehow forgotten” leaving the girl in the back seat after picking her up from the baby sitter late Thursday afternoon. He went inside the house with a 5-year-old child but left the baby strapped in the car seat outside. The girl had been in the car for about two hours. Police say Jackson had apparently forgotten about her until something on TV jogged his memory.

Temperatures in Wichita at the time were around 90 degrees.

“He is devastated. He wants to die. Nothing like that should have ever happened to a child, and he knows it, and he wants to be the one. He should be the one and not her,” said Dottie, the mother of Jackson in an interview Friday with KSN.

In response to Wednesday’s charges filed following the death of the 10-month-old baby, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Phyllis Gilmore offers the following statement:

“We remain deeply saddened that this child suffered such a horrific death. We support the charges filed in this case, and we will aid in any way possible the prosecution of the defendant.”

DCF continues its investigation into the tragedy.

To read the Kansas Department of Children and Families’ statement in its entirety, click here.

KSN TV

• Jul 22, 2014
• KSNW TV
• -
• by Brittany Glas

WINFIELD, Kan. – Some residents of Winfield are outraged that a convicted sex offender was allowed to go home before being sentenced to life in prison.

Loarn Earl Fitzgerald II was released on a low bond amount after being convicted of child sex crimes for the third time.

A judge set a bond of $25,000 and Fitzgerald was allowed to go home for two weeks before sentencing to a neighborhood where many children live.

KSN spoke to Judge James Pringle about residents’ concerns over the bond amount.  He said it’s probably not that bad to let Fitzgerald spend two weeks with his family before he never sees them again.

It was a decision that still does not sit well with residents who were forced to live near the convicted sex offender over the course of those two weeks.

“I couldn’t believe it!” said Deanean Holden, one of Fitzgerald’s neighbors. “I mean that’s you know, you have kids around. You’d think at least he would have to wait for sentencing in jail, not be out and be accessible.”

The bond made waves across Cowley County, especially for his Winfield neighbors when they realized he would be out of jail and back home.

“He was down the street, sitting on the porch watching kids,” said Holden.

“I watch these little kids all the time, just like they were my own. So yeah, I’d be worried about it too!”

Cowley County residents reached out to KSN weeks ago, concerned District Court Judge Pringle was setting low bond amounts for sex offenders.

We learned that in setting a bond with the constitution and Kansas law in mind, a judge must consider two issues: whether the person is a danger to the community or a flight risk.

In the case of the three-time convicted sex offender, the bond was set at only $25,000, meaning he paid $2,500 to be home for two weeks before being sentenced to prison.

County Attorney Christopher Smith publicly disagreed with the bond.

He stated, as a prosecutor, he considered Fitzgerald both a danger to the community and a flight risk.

“I was against releasing him on bond under any condition,” Smith said.

Neighbors say Fitzgerald’s criminal history should have been evidence enough against him.

“He’s already been convicted three times,” said Holden. “It just didn’t make any sense.”

But it wasn’t up to his neighbors. It’s up to the man behind the bench: Judge Pringle.

“Entrusted to the wisdom of the individuals we elect and put in place as judges,” said Dan Monnat, KSN Legal Analyst.

“Fine, they have discretion, but there should still be some, you know, limits,” said Holden. “Our laws need to be stricter. They need to be more safe for our kids.”

State Senator Michael O’Donnell agrees.

“The legislature does need to step in and just have a minimum threshold,” said O’Donnell. “If you are accused or charged with a certain crime, and some of the most horrific crimes are child sex crimes, that we are going to hold you accountable.”

There are at least a dozen children who live in the immediate vicinity of the home Fitzgerald was living in prior to his sentencing.

Because this was Fitzgerald’s third offense, Jessica’s Law applied in this case.

Judge Pringle sentenced Fitzgerald Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Neighbors say it was a relief.

KSNW TV – By Brittany Glas