KU News Release

LAWRENCE — The road from arrest to conviction is complex, and even attorneys, judges and juries with the best of intentions can take wrong turns along the way.

Students in the Project for Innocence and Post-Conviction Remedies at the University of Kansas School of Law have achieved an unusually high success rate over the past year in persuading courts to reverse convictions based on those wrong turns.

The students’ work benefited 10 defendants who did not receive fair trials.

“We usually have a couple or three students each year who have some measure of success on their direct appeal cases,” said Rick Kittel, supervising attorney for the students. “But this many outright winning cases is unusual.“

A direct appeal is the first line of appeal after someone has been convicted at trial. Students review the record of the case at the trial court level, pinpoint issues showing that the defendant did not get a fair trial and then write a brief raising these issues that is filed in the Court of Appeals. If the appeal fails there, students can petition for review by the Kansas Supreme Court. If they lose there, they can still file habeas corpus lawsuits, which are additional efforts to obtain relief from a criminal conviction.

Dan Runge, a 2009 KU law graduate who worked on State v. Dorian Richardson while a student in the Project for Innocence, recently won that case at the Kansas Supreme Court. The court reversed Richardson’s conviction of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer based upon an instructional error. The Kansas Supreme Court only accepts about 6 percent of petitions for review each term.

Christopher Sebastian Thomas Orosco, now a third-year law student, worked on State v. Justin Pruitt while enrolled in the Project for Innocence during the summer after his first year of law school. He pored through thick binders of court documents and trial transcripts to identify problematic issues in the case of a man convicted of the attempted burglary of an off-duty police officer’s automobile. The experience brought full circle the separate legal concepts that Orosco had learned in his first-year law courses.

“In the real world, a typical case will usually involve overlapping issues of criminal law, criminal procedure and constitutional law, but in an academic setting we only learn legal issues relevant to a class topic,” Orosco said. “Clinics, such as the Project for Innocence, fill that knowledge gap.”

Winning the case was icing on the cake.

“The fact that the Kansas appellate court ruled in Mr. Pruitt’s favor encourages faith in the judicial system by putting meaning behind the concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and the state’s articulation of due process,” Orosco said. “These aren’t just words scribed on parchment, but rather are part of a system of checks and balances designed to ensure fundamental fairness.”

Direct appeals won by KU law students since January 2009:

State v. Noah Daniel, Jan. 22, 2010 (unpublished), drug possession conviction reversed based on an improper waiver of the right to a jury trial. Student: Anna Schall.

State v. Crystal Witmer, Sept. 25, 2009 (unpublished), possession of hydrocodone conviction reversed due to violation of Fourth Amendment. Student: Rury Grisham.

State v. Willie Dean, 214 P.3d 1190 (Aug. 28, 2009), possession of cocaine conviction reversed due to violation of Fourth Amendment. Student: Tom Knutzen, fall 2009 law graduate.

State v. Ross Lane, July 27, 2009 (unpublished), summarily reversed in order of Court of Appeals, battery on a correctional officer conviction reversed because jury not instructed on all elements of crime charged. Student: Erica Schroeder.

State v. Justin Pruitt, 42 Kan. App. 2d 166 (June 19, 2009), attempted burglary conviction reversed based on illegal deadlocked jury instruction and cumulative error. Student: Christopher Sebastian Thomas Orosco.

State v. Willie Hawkins, May 22, 2009 (unpublished), fleeing and attempting to elude and felony theft convictions reversed based on instructional errors. Student: Julie Larson, 2009 law graduate.

State v. Kevin Lee Page, 41 Kan. App. 2d 584 (April 3, 2009), rape convictions reversed based upon illegal deadlocked jury instruction. Student: Daniel Moskowitz, 2009 law graduate.

State v. Perez-Rivera, 41 Kan. App. 2d 579 (March 27, 2009), domestic battery conviction reversed on insufficient evidence. Student: Amanda Sheridan, 2009 law graduate.

State v. Alan Salts, 288 Kan. 263 (Feb. 6, 2009), did not win case but published Supreme Court opinion established that certain language in the deadlocked jury instruction was in error. Student: Dennis Golden, 2009 law graduate.

State v. Kenneth Gehmlich, Jan. 16, 2009 (unpublished), aggravated sexual battery conviction reversed based on insufficient evidence. Student: Maria Neal.

The cases with a citation are published and can be used later as case law precedent.

Students in the law school’s Project for Innocence and Post-Conviction Remedies represent state and federal prisoners in appellate and post-conviction litigation in state and federal courts. The project receives more than 200 letters each year from inmates seeking assistance.

Hometown information for students and recent alumni:

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Baldwin City 66006
Dennis Golden, a 2009 KU law graduate, is the son of Bob and Sherry Golden. He graduated from Ottawa High School.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Missions Hills 66028
Anna Schall, a third-year law student, is the daughter of Bruce and Nancy Schall. She graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School.

From Prairie Village 66208
Julie Larson, a 2009 KU law graduate, is the daughter of Roger and Chris Larson. She graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY
From Independence 67301
Daniel Runge, a 2009 KU law graduate, is the son of James Runge. He graduated from Independence Senior High School.

MINNESOTA
From Shakopee 55379
Thomas Knutzen, a fall 2009 KU law graduate, is the son of David Knutzen and Lynn Rogers. He graduated from Shakopee Senior High School.

NEBRASKA
From Bellevue 68005
Christopher Sebastian Thomas Orosco, a third-year law student, is the son of George Orosco of Omaha, Neb., and Carmen Orosco of Tampa, Fla. He graduated from Bellevue East High School.

OKLAHOMA
From Vinita 74301
Maria Neal, a third-year law student, is the daughter of Aaron Neal and Martha Allen. She graduated from Vinita High School.

OHIO
From West Chester 45069
Amanda Sheridan, a 2009 KU law graduate, is the daughter of Susie Sheridan.

PENNSYLVANIA
From Pittsburgh 15218
Rury Grisham, a third-year law student, is the son of Ranett Grisham. He graduated from Woodland Hills High School.

SOUTH DAKOTA
From Miller 57362
Erica Schroeder, a third-year law student, is the daughter of Steve and Connie Schroeder. She graduated from Miller High School.

VIRGINIA
From Blacksburg 24060
Daniel Moskowitz is a 2009 KU law graduate.