State v. Lamkin
State v. Lamkin
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The defendant, Lawrence C. Lamkin, was charged with criminal damage to property of Westward Industries, Inc. The defendant drove a pickup truck in circles over the lawn in front of the building housing this food manufacturing firm. The cost of repair of the lawn was estimated to be $480.00. At the close of the State’s evidence, the trial judge entered a judgment of acquittal on the ground the State had failed to introduce any evidence to establish that Westward Industries, Inc. had an interest in the property injured, damaged or substantially impaired. The State in its brief and during oral argument acknowledged the question raised is one asking this court to determine the sufficiency of the evidence introduced at the trial.
Under K.S.A. 1979 Supp. 22-3602(b) an appeal may be taken by the prosecution in a criminal trial as a matter of right after a final
In the present case the sufficiency of the State’s evidence to establish that Westward Industries, Inc. had an interest in the property damaged is not of statewide interest and an answer to such a question does not appear vital to a correct and uniform administration of the criminal law.
Appeal dismissed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting: The appeal herein should be determined on its merits. Certainly, sufficiency of the evidence in this particular case is not a matter of statewide interest. However, the question of whether there must be specific evidence of who owns property as opposed to general evidence of ownership is a matter which arises in many criminal cases. The trial judge herein took an extremely strict position on the subject. Presumably, he will adopt the same position when the question next arises and he is not alone in so doing. I believe determination of question is important to a correct and uniform administration of the criminal law of Kansas.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Kansas, Appellant, v. Lawrence C. Lamkin, Appellee
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published