LAWRENCE, Kansas – Freedom of speech. It’s in the First Amendment. Some say it’s been dampened in Kansas. Says KSN Legal Analyst Dan Monnat: “The issue involved in the Board of Regents policy here, brings up exactly the question that has not been decided by the United States Supreme Court. That is, whether the rule restricting speech of public employees applies in academic freedom and scholarship.”
WICHITA, Kansas – A drug abuse assessment form may become one of the factors that determines which welfare recipients will have to take a drug test to receive benefits. But how the test is administered may mean a person could be giving up Constitutional rights just to feed her or his family, says KSN Legal Expert Dan Monnat…
WICHITA, Kan. — Terry Lee Loewen made national news when he tried to blow up his car on the tarmac at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport. Court papers show Loewen reached out to people he thought were Al Qaida….But those people were really FBI agents. Attorneys say entrapment defense likely on tap for Loewen. “For there to be entrapment, two ingredients are necessary,” said Dan Monnat, KSNW Legal Analyst. “One, government inducement. Two, no predisposition by the accused to commit the crime…”
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court says a lower court should not have overturned the conviction and death sentence of a man who admitted killing a Kansas sheriff…. Capital punishment continues to be an ineffective and wasteful system for Kansas taxpayers, according to attorney and KSN Legal Analyst Dan Monnat. “Besides the Cheever case, the Kansas Supreme Court has reversed 6 out of 6 other death sentences, and the Kansas Supreme Court has yet to uphold on appeal any Kansas death sentence….”
WICHITA — A motions hearing will determine whether or not the identity of a Crime Stoppers tipster can be revealed for the trial of an accused murderer…. “The problem with every informant is, what is their motivation? Is it to work off their own case? Their own crime?” asks criminal defense attorney Dan Monnat. He says if the anonymous information is in the possession of the prosecutor, the prosecutor may have a duty…
“There was no warrant. There was no consent, and the state had wholly failed to demonstrate emergency circumstances excusing the need to get a search warrant,” said Attorney Dan Monnat.
DERBY, Kansas — Derby High School already has random drug testing. Add the AlcoBlow to the list…. But, is it legal? “Maybe the bigger question here is how will the school do this?” asks legal analyst and Wichita attorney Dan Monnat. “Might we find that a disproportionate number of students with face metal and tattoos … or who wear hoodies are being tested? The school has to be very careful…”
It’s been nearly four months since the arrest of a former Wichita Police Sergeant accused of child sex crimes, but there has yet to be a case filed against him. A number of things are likely hindering the case, says Dan Monnat.
“The accusation was not made until almost 12 years after it supposedly happened. That will seriously hinder law enforcement officers in tracking down and interviewing other possible witnesses… Memories fade, particularly with children,” Monnat said…
While a member of Wichita State’s Final Four Team is being investigated for an alleged sexual assault, Dan Monnat offered legal commentary on the case for KAKE News.
“This has not been elevated to a criminal charge and the accused is presumed innocent. The State has to prove the alleged victim was incapable of consenting because of alcohol or drugs and that the victim’s lack of consent was apparent to the accused….”
“The greatest gift that we can give each other as human beings is understanding,” said defense attorney Dan Monnat. “Todd Puetz and his family are very grateful to these courageous jurors….” A Sedgwick County jury found the former high school football coach not guilty on two of the three counts against him….
