Senate Judiciary committee hears split testimony on bill to curb successive post-conviction motions

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard more than two hours of testimony on Senate Bill 60, which would limit second and successive post-conviction motions under K.S.A. 60-1507 and change appellate review for some habeas cases.

Supporters, including the Kansas attorney general’s office and county prosecutors, said the bill is aimed at reducing repetitive filings that drain judicial resources. “The purpose of this bill is to stop, or stem the . . . overwhelming amount of repetitive, unmeritorious post-conviction motions that we’ve seen,” said Chris Ailslinger, deputy solicitor general for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. He added the measure “codifies already the existing rules and procedures” and contains carve-outs for rare, egregious failures by counsel.

Opponents — including the Capitol Appellate Defender, the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and innocence organizations — said the bill’s proposed limits on successive petitions would bar meritorious claims and block routes to exoneration in some cases. “This bill puts finality over fairness,” said Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project. Jean Phillips of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers described the case of Lamont McIntyre, saying a third petition with new investigation ultimately produced exonerating evidence and that SB 60’s standards could have prevented that review.

What the bill would change

According to testimony and the bill brief, SB 60 would revise K.S.A. 60-1507 (the state habeas/post-conviction…