Vigorous
courtroom
defense

Rigorous
legal
scholarship


 


200 W. Douglas, Suite 830
Olive W. Garvey Building
Wichita, KS 67202

Tel 316. 264.2800


 

Publications   

"To Protect and Serve...and Lie? Why Even “Good” Police Lies are Bad for Kansas Justice"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice News   July 2012
By Dan Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

"The Loneliness of the Kansas Constitution, Part II"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice News   May 2011
By Dan Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

"How to Free a 'Guilty' Client by Arguing Entrapment by Estoppel"
Published in the Champion, NACDL News   December 2010
by Dan Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

"The Loneliness of the Kansas Constitution"
Reprinted from the Journal of the Kansas Association for Justice, Vol. 34. No. 1, September 2010
by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols

"The Trial of Dr. George Tiller"  as told by Maren Chaloupka in the Fall 2009 Journal of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College.

What to Do When the Jury is Out�But the Legal Questions Keep Rolling In
Journal for the Kansas Association of Justice   Vol. 33, No. 2, November 2009
by Dan E. Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

 



 

The National Law Journal
June 16, 2008


Courts Putting Hot-Button Words on Ice
Call it the age of the Loaded Word.

A  steadily increasing number of courts across the United States are prohibiting witnesses and victims from uttering certain words in front of a jury, banning everything from the words "rape" to "victim" to "crime scene."

"I've had wise judges frequently order that prosecutors and witnesses not refer to certain individuals as 'victims' or locations as 'crime scenes.' Such orders are required by the presumption of innocence," said criminal defense lawyer Daniel E. Monnat of Monnat & Spurrier in Wichita, Kan.  Monnat convinced a judge to exclude the terms "victim" and "crime scene" in a pending homicide case. Kansas v. Floyd, No. 06CR17 (Stanton Co., Kan., Dist. Ct.).


Monnat
said that words like "victim" and "crime scene" contradict the presumption of innocence by assuming a conclusion that a jury is supposed to arrive at on its own.

"It only makes sense. You don't want the witnesses and officers of law enforcement talking as if it was a foregone conclusion, almost drumming it into the jurors' minds that a crime was committed by virtue of the fact that there is a victim," Monnat said. "I think that courts are more and more open to restricting terminology like this because of the number of wrongful convictions that have been demonstrated to have occurred in the U.S." 

"Legal Prescriptions for Diagnosing Bias During Voir Dire in Kansas Criminal Cases"
Published in the Journal for the Kansas Association of Justice   Vol. 30, No. 6, July 2008
b
y Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols

"Sidelining the Prosecutor in a Criminal Case"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association   July 2006
by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols

"Unsealing Seach Warrant Materials for Uncharged Clients"
Published in the Champion, NACDL News   July 2006
by Daniel E Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

"Unraveling the Woolsack:  How to Recuse or Reverse a Biased Kansas Judge"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association   July 2006

by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols

"The Kid Gloves Are Off : Child Hearsay After Crawford v. Washington"
Published in the Champion, NACDL News  January/February 2006

by Daniel E Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

"Hearsay Today, Gone Tomorrow:  Child Hearsay after Crawford v Washington"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association March 2005
by Daniel E. Monnat and Paige A. Nichols

Synopsis:
In Crawford v. Washington, the United States Supreme Court appears to have rendered unconstitutional the Kansas child-hearsay exception contained in K.S.A. 60-460(dd).click here for entire text of article

"A Primer on the Federal Wiretap Act and Its Fourth Amendment Framework"
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, March 2004
by Dan Monnat and Anne Ethen

Synopsis:
Recent law enforcement activity in this federal jurisdiction suggests that criminal defense attorneys may be encountering the fruits of federal wiretaps with greater frequency. At first glance, the federal statutes governing wiretaps may seem a disjointed and confusing set of special rules. However, for purposes of recognizing issues to litigate, it may be helpful to view wiretaps through the familiar framework of the Fourth Amendment. If the wiretap procedure is viewed as one which culminates in just another search warrant, many of the issues will be familiar from other search and seizure contexts.click here for entire text of article
 

"Amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure You'll Want to Know About "
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, May 2003
by Dan Monnat and Anne Ethen

Synopsis:
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure have recently undergone a major revision. The rules received a "general restyling . . . to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules," effective December 1, 2002. As a part of this restyling, many of the rules have been broken down into new subdivisions and various provisions of the rules have been moved and rearranged. For example, the provisions of Rule 40, governing the procedures to be followed after the arrest of a person on charges pending in another district, have been moved, primarily to Rules 5 and 5.1. Since many subsection designations have also been changed, it would be a good idea to check any standard motions you may use and update the citations.

Amid the stylistic changes, it could be easy to overlook several substantive amendments which also took effect December 1, 2002. This article will outline some of the amendments to the rules that affect the practice of criminal law in federal court. In this article, the authors will refer to the pre-December 1, 2002, Rules as the 'prior' or 'former' rules. The authors will refer to the post-December 1, 2002, Rules as the 'amended' or 'restyled' rules.  click here for the entire text of the article
 

"Ain't Misbehavin'? Think Again
Identifying Ten Improper Prosecutorial Arguments in Criminal Cases
"

Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, March 2001
by Dan Monnat and Paige A. Nichols  click here for entire text of article


"Oh Give Me A Home, Where the Government Can't Roam...":  Interpreting The Kansas Constitution to Protect "Open Fields" by Dan Monnat and Paige Nichols
Published in the Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, November 1994

"Sentencing, Probation and Collateral Consequences," Kansas Criminal Law Handbook, Ch.14
(Elizabeth Cateforis, ed., 4th ed. KBA 2006).