Kansas Criminal Law Bills That Took Effect June 1

Kansas Criminal Law Bills That Took Effect June 1

1. Senate Bill 307:  Criminal Procedure

• Amends the felony murder statute to exclude lesser degrees of first-degree murder.  Therefore, a defendant may be convicted twice of murder in the first degree because there is no lesser degrees of murder in the first degree.
• Adjusts speedy trial computations
• KSA 21-5909, which makes it illegal to intimidate a witness, is amended to include persuading a witness from making a victimization report to SRS.
• http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/sb307_enrolled.pdf

2.  House Bill 2318:  Drug Code Crimes

• Creates the crime of endangerment, which is defined as “recklessly exposing another person to a danger of great bodily harm or death.”  Such a crime is a class A person misdemeanor.
•  Allows for the unilateral theory of conspiracy, making it statutorily immaterial whether the co-conspirator lacked the actual intent to commit the underlying crime if the defendant believed the co-conspirator had intent.
•   Adds abandonment of a child to the list of inherently dangerous felonies
• Adds a number of new drugs to the drug code sentencing grid
• http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/documents/hb2318_enrolled.pdf

3.  House Bill 2568:  Kansas Offender Registration Act

• Revision of the offender registration responsibilities of the courts
• Revision of offender registration requirements in relation to length of registration

4.  Electronic Cigarettes

• Just like the real thing is off limits for those under the age of 18, electronic cigarettes are also banned for sale to minors or possession by minors.

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