Sunday, November 17, 2013

State v. Zimmer case brief

State v. Zimmer case brief summary
426 P.2d 267 (1967)


CASE SYNOPSIS
Defendant appealed a judgment from the Shawnee District Court (Kansas), which convicted him of kidnapping in the first degree, with harm inflicted under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-449, and murder in the first degree under § 21-401. The jury imposed respective punishments of death and life imprisonment.

CASE FACTS
Defendant abducted a seven-year-old girl, murdered her, and placed her body in a creek bank in a rural area. He was convicted of kidnapping and murder.

DISCUSSION

  • On appeal, the court affirmed. 
  • The court stated that the trial court did not err by refusing to appoint counsel for a period before his trial. 
  • The court stated that evidence indicated that he had substantial monetary resources and § 62-1304 required appointment only if an accused could not employ counsel. 
  • The court ruled that defendant was not entitled to an analysis of a pill taken from his person at the time of arrest.
  • The court stated that it was irrelevant, and public law enforcement agencies did not have a duty to conduct such a test. 
  • The court held that venue was proper in the jurisdiction in which the victim was last seen and where her body was found. 
  • The court further held that defendant did not show good cause for a continuance, and the addition of the death penalty to the kidnapping statute was not violative of his due process rights. 
  • The court rejected a contention that color slides of the victim's body were improperly admitted. 
  • The trial court carefully previewed the slides, and they were illustrative of material facts.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the judgment of the trial court, which convicted defendant of kidnapping in the first degree, with harm inflicted, and murder in the first degree. The court affirmed defendant's respective sentences of death and life imprisonment.


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