Appeal No. 119,529: State of Kansas v. Luis Antonio Aguirre
The Kansas Supreme Court will hear an appeal stemming from a Riley County jury’s conviction of an Ogden man convicted of premeditated first-degree murder and manslaughter in 2012.
The appeal is part of the Kansas Supreme Court’s Sept. 14-18, 2020, docket, which can viewed live on the Supreme Court’s Youtube channel.
In June 2012, Luis Antonio Aguirre, who lived in Ogden from February to October of 2009, was convicted by a Riley County jury of capital murder in connection to the discovery of two bodies found buried together near Ogden in October of 2009. The death penalty was not imposed as part of this conviction.
The two bodies were identified as Tanya Maldonado, Aguirre’s ex-girlfriend, and Juan Maldonado, Aguirre and Tanya Maldonado’s son.
It was later found on appeal that Aguirre’s confession was obtained in violation of his Miranda rights, leading to a reversal of his conviction.
Aguirre was then retried and convicted of premeditated first-degree murder and manslaughter.
The upcoming appeal has to do with Aguirre’s retrial and will take on the following issues as stated in a release from the Kansas Judicial Branch:
- “Aguirre’s statements to police were made in violation of Miranda and also involuntary.”
- “The district court erred in allowing the State’s expert witness on botany to testify to his “expert” opinion on the length of time the grave was left open, in violation of the requirements of K.S.A. 60-456(b).”
- “The district court erred in finding the stipulation to the authenticity of emails was binding for the second trial.”
- “There was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find Aguirre killed J.M. intentionally and with premeditation.”
- “The district court erred in denying Aguirre’s requested cautionary instruction against inference stacking.”
- “The prosecutor’s closing argument lowered the burden of proof and led jurors to believe they need not be unanimous.”
- “The district court had jurisdiction to convict Aguirre of voluntary manslaughter.”
Appeal No. 117,439: Alysia R. Tillman and Storm Fleetwood v. Katherine A. Goodpasture, D.O., et al.
The second appeal will review whether Kansas law prohibiting lawsuits based on “wrongful birth” claims is constitutional.
It involves a Manhattan couple whose child was born with severe brain defects. Alysia Tillman and Storm Fleetwood claim the Dr. Katherine Goodpasture withheld that information from them, which otherwise might have allowed the couple to seek an abortion.
The baby, which was born on May 28, 2014, was diagnosed with schizencephaly following the birth and was said in court documents to have permanent mental and physical handicaps.
Tillman and Fleetwood pursued damages of more than $75,000, alleging that not knowing about these handicaps prevented them from making an informed decision about whether or not to abort the pregnancy.
The couple also alleged that a Kansas law passed in 2013 preventing parents from seeking damages or civil action based on similar arguments is unconstitutional.
In 2018, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld the Riley County District Court’s ruling, which was in favor of Goodpasture, and also determined the 2013 Kansas law to be constitutional.
The Kansas Supreme Court will review the following issue as stated in a release from the Kansas Judicial Branch:
- “Whether K.S.A. 60-1906 violates Sections 5 and 18 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and the right to remedy by due course of law because the statute bars common law medical negligence wrongful birth causes of action without providing a substitute remedy.”
The post Kansas Supreme Court to hear appeals for Riley County murder, wrongful birth cases appeared first on News Radio KMAN.
