State v. Edwards
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In this decision from the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas, the defendant, Jerome Edwards, appealed the denial of his 2022 motion for DNA testing. Edwards had previously filed similar motions in 2011, 2018, and 2022 asking for DNA testing of biological materials on a cigarette butt and a bullet, both of which were denied. He argued that the district court erred by applying the "law of the case" doctrine to deny his 2022 motion, stating that the court did not have jurisdiction over his case when it denied the 2018 motion as he had an appeal pending at the same time.
The Supreme Court held that K.S.A. 21-2512, the law governing DNA testing, grants the district court jurisdiction to consider and act on a motion seeking DNA testing even after an appeal has been docketed. This conclusion was based on the plain language of the law, which allows a defendant to seek DNA testing "at any time" and "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law." The court also held that the law of the case doctrine applied to the defendant's 2022 motion, as it sought DNA testing of the same evidence as his 2018 motion. Therefore, the district court correctly applied the law of the case doctrine to deny Edwards' 2022 motion for DNA testing. Finally, the court affirmed the district court's decision.
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