Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Debate over whether convictions later held unconstitutional should count for criminal history intensifies
Summary
House Bill 2401 would allow courts to count prior convictions that were held unconstitutional if an appellate court later overruled that ruling; prosecutors said the change prevents permanently excluding convictions that are later validated, while public‑defense advocates called the bill premature and likely to create litigation.
House Bill 2401, proposing an exception to the sentencing guidelines' rule that excludes convictions under statutes later held unconstitutional, prompted a vigorous exchange Wednesday between prosecutors and defense advocates in the House Committee on Judiciary.
Jason Thompson of the Revisor's Office told the committee the bill would amend KSA 21‑6810(d)(9) so that a prior conviction under a statute determined unconstitutional by an appellate court would not be used for criminal history scoring only "unless the basis of the determination of unconstitutionality by the appellate court is later…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
