After listening to people argue all day, judges enjoy the opportunity to hear people say, “I do.” Most judges in Sedgwick County perform marriages outside of regular court business for a $40-$50 honorarium. Jerry Chebultz, 64, of Wichita and Nadiya Hryhorenko, 42, of Ukraine were among those deciding on a courthouse wedding.
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Most people know if they can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for them at no cost. What they may not know is in Kansas, if they’re convicted, they have to pay their legal fees. Judges, however, have to base the fees on the defendant’s ability to pay. As we see here, it’s not always an easy decision.
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Every day, deputies in the Judicial Division escort defendants between jail and court, often under stressful and emotional circumstances. Once in the courtroom, defendants may get a rare chance to see their families. Deputies such as David Rank have to make decisions on how much to let loved ones interact with those in custody while maintaining safety and security in the courtroom.
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We’ve seen several defendants on Common Law receive probation instead of going to prison. But as public defender Lacy Gilmour explained, just because you get out of jail, that doesn’t mean freedom. Justin Kelly was lucky to get out, after skipping court last month. Judge James Fleetwood doubled his jail time, should he violate his probation. Kelly also learned when you show up for court with a Chinese tattoo, make sure the judge can’t read it. (Watch video after the jump) Read More
The majority of people in U.S. prisons suffer from some form of mental disorder. Lennie Coleman was one of them. The 66-year-old had just served nearly three years for threatening his neighbors when he was arrested again for drugs. Even his neighbors said he needed help. The law said Coleman should go to prison on the latest charge. Judge David Kaufman had to decide what was in the best interests of both the defendant and the community.
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Lacy Orr was convicted of domestic violence against his former girlfriend three times in a year. This turned the crime from a misdemeanor into a felony. And as public defender Lacy Gilmour explained, Orr also gave up his last chance to stay out of prison.
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Everyone came to court expecting Gary Washburn to plead guilty for fleecing two 80-something women out of nearly $100,000. But Washburn’s rant ended up confusing just about everyone, especially the lawyers. Judges don’t take guilty pleas lightly, so Joe Kisner kept probing. Washburn said he wanted to accept the plea deal from the state, but his rambling said otherwise. Kisner looked to a decades-old U.S. Supreme Court decision known as “Alford” for guidance. Washburn’s attempts to plead guilty are difficult to describe. Better to just watch.
Legislators pass laws. Judges uphold them. But when people bring their problems to court, judges catch the idiosyncrasies lawmakers miss. Judge David Kaufman found such flaws in Senate Bill 123, which provides state funds to help pay for drug treatment while people are on probation. Kaufman recently faced a young woman convicted of possessing methamphetamine and making minimal wages. The judge found she’d only be eligible for aid to help her drug problem if she was a more violent criminal.
Devon Thompson was on probation for drug possession, when he started using again and stopped seeing his supervising officer. When police showed up to serve him his arrest warrant, he told them he was someone else. After being sentenced to 24 months in prison on the drug charges, he went before Judge Ben Burgess for sentencing on obstruction of justice. Prosecutors asked for the judge to add nine months to Thompson’s sentence. Public defender Lacy Gilmour asked for probation. The judge had to decide if an extra nine months in prison would help a drug addict.
Several times each day, people show up to see their probation officer only to find that they have a warrant for their arrest. The probation officers call across the street to the Judicial Division of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department for a deputy to make the arrest. Sometimes, Deputy Dioane Gates knows the people he’s arresting.