Vontress v. State
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes. The Supreme Court concluded that Appellant’s convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated battery were multiplicitous and reversed the conviction for aggravated battery but otherwise affirmed. Ten years after the Court’s decision, Appellant filed a motion for habeas relief, contending that Kansas law on premeditation was unconstitutional. The district court denied the motion as untimely under Kan. Stat. Ann. 60-1507(f). The court of appeals affirmed the denial because Appellant failed to justify the untimeliness of his motion, and thus failed to show manifest injustice under section 60-1507(f)(2) that would allow him to proceed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a prisoner’s failure to provide the reasons for a delay in filing a motion for habeas relief does not automatically exclude the untimely motion, and rather, manifest injustice must be determined based on the totality of the circumstances in each case; and (2) there was no manifest injustice established under the totality of the circumstances in this case.
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