Supreme Court: Kansas violated rights of man jailed 4 years
Source: Associated Press
Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press
Updated 5:04 pm, Friday, December 9, 2016
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The state violated the rights of a convicted sex offender by holding him in jail for years without a trial under the claim that he was a sexually violent predator subject to involuntary civil commitment, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The state's highest court agreed with a ruling by Sedgwick County District Judge Benjamin Burgess, who in 2014 ordered Todd Ellison released from jail. The Supreme Court found that the state violated Ellison's due process rights to a speedy trial after he remained jailed for 1,705 days awaiting trial.
Ellison's attorney, Michael Whalen, said his client was relieved. He said the decision also puts the Kansas attorney general's office on notice that such cases need to be a priority and move more quickly through the courts.
The attorney general's office released a statement Friday saying it has taken steps in recent years to speed up such cases and to better document delays caused be defense attorneys' requests.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Kansas-Supreme-Court-backs-man-jailed-4-years-10785657.php
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