Four Months After Arrest, Former WPD Sergeant Not Charged

  • May 06, 2013
  • KAKE News
  • -
  • by Jared Cerullo

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…

WSU Basketball Final Four Player Investigated for Sexual Assault

  • Apr 25, 2013
  • KAKE News

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….”

Coach Acquitted of Two Felonies; Third Hangs Jury

  • Apr 09, 2013
  • by Hurst Laviana

Former Garden Plain football coach Todd Puetz, who was facing a possible sentence of five years in prison for electronic solicitation of a minor, has avoided jail time by reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. Puetz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of patronizing a prostitute and was given a 30-day suspended sentence by District…

Former Garden Plain Coach Found Not Guilty On Two Counts, Impasse On Third

  • Apr 09, 2013
  • KWCH TV
  • -
  • by Roger Cornish & Michael Schwanke

“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….

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.