The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed a Lyon County District Court ruling and Kansas Court of Appeals follow-up in an aggravated battery case that led to a dispute over offender registration.
Giovanni Juarez pleaded no contest to aggravated battery after an incident where he hit a Lyon County jail guard hard enough to break his eye socket in May 2015. Initially, district court did not tell Juarez he had to register as an offender under the state’s Offender Registration Act and the aggravated battery conviction wasn’t listed as a crime that automatically needed registration. However, six weeks after sentencing, the court told Juarez to register Juarez unsuccessfully objected and, later, unsuccessfully appealed to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
The majority on the Supreme Court said the Juarez argument about lack of notice and resulting violation of due process fails because the Offender Registration Act does not force district courts to give advance notice — although it says district court should give that notice at the time of conviction and it also says Juarez missed two chances to bring up his concerns before sentencing.
Justices Eric Rosen and Carol Beier dissented, saying district court failed to fulfill its duty by not telling Juarez of the registration duty until after conviction.
The Supreme Court ruling does not address the conviction, sentence or need for Juarez to register in this case.
