In re Jones (Kan. Ct. App. 2020)

In re Jones, No. No. 120,309 (Kan. Ct. App. 2020)

Nature of Case: Appellee was convicted of a sexual offense, and thereafter the state sought his civil commitment as a sexually violent predator. Two experts evaluated the Appellee, one who concluded that he met the statutory SVP criteria, and the other who did not. The Court, on the basis of the testimony of the expert witness who found that the Appellee was not a SVP, dismissed the state’s petition and the state appealed.

Holding: Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the trial court dismissing the SVP petition. The Court found that general civil motion practice was applicable to SVP proceedings, and thus that the dismissal was really an order of summary judgment. The Court noted that the disagreement between the expert witnesses created a triable issue of fact, rendering summary judgment inappropriate.