A procedural error in filing court documents prevented a judge from issuing warrants for defendants who failed to appear, leading to a heated exchange between the judge and the county attorney regarding accountability and prosecutorial immunity.
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At the end of the daily docket in the
Greenwood County Magistrate Court in
Eureka, Kansas, courtroom cameras
captured Judge Phyllis Webster and
County Attorney Jill Gillette discussing
several individuals who allegedly failed
to appear for their scheduled court
date. During their conversation, Judge
Phyllis discovered that a procedural
error had left her unable to take action
against the individuals who did not
appear in court and implied that the
county attorney's office may be the
source of the error. Miss Gillette's
response to Judge Webster's remarks
prompted a heated exchange that very
well could have placed her career in jeopardy.
jeopardy.
>> Tanya Sanchez,
>> we already did Sanchez.
We have a Tiana Richardson
and a Dustin Newport. I still have
>> Well, hold on. That's not what I'm
showing. What do you have uh missing?
>> I have Alfonso Caldwell and Tiana
Richardson that Newport bonded out or
no? Well, he bonded on ours and then
Line County come and got him before
>> I noticed. Okay, he was taken off the
docket. What did I do? mix up Tanya
>> And no one mentioned that I was using
the wrong name.
>> You were using the right name.
>> Well, and these are my couple that I
don't have anything com uh filed to show
that they have to be in court. I don't
have a a summons. I don't have a uniform
notice to appear issued by the officer
in the ticket. Judge, the girls filed
the ticket earlier today.
>> Okay, let me see if it's Maybe I just
need to double check. Mr. >> Cwell,
>> Cwell,
>> tickets were issued January 23rd, 25 at
209 hours. But
>> let me let me make sure they made it to
the file because I'm not seeing that. I
don't see that, Miss Gillette. And until
I can I have filed verification that
>> and not finding that. You're sure they
filed them?
>> Narleene was the one who did it for us.
>> No. Missy, do you have that where you
can look at it because I am not seeing
it filed. Maybe I need to No, I think
I've already refreshed to see if they've
been added. What was that missing?
>> I said they're not they're they're not
showing up in the case yet.
I don't know if upstairs hasn't approved
them or what's going on.
I can check.
>> Would you would you check? We'll take
just a real quick recess because I don't
have anything in the file to show they
have notice of the hearing. So, I can't
take any action for their failure to
appear without it. Judge Webster argues
that she cannot take action for the
defendants's failure to appear without
any filed evidence showing that the
defendants received notice that they
needed to appear in court. Generally,
when an individual knowingly fails to
appear for a scheduled court date,
judges have the authority to issue a
so-called bench warrant for their
arrest. For instance, section 19-4739
of the Kansas statutes authorizes judges
to site individuals charged with county
code violations who fail to appear for a
court date with contempt of court and
issue a bench warrant. However, this
statute only allows the judge to take
these actions if the defendant fails to
appear, now quoting from the statute,
after service of notice to appear.
Although we do not know the details of
the charges against the individuals who
did not appear at their court dates,
notice of the requirement to appear in
court is essential to proving that an
individual knowingly disregarded that
requirement. And it is more than
reasonable that Judge Webster refused to
take action without any evidence of this
notice in the defendant's files.
>> Arlene's going to bring the unfiled copy
upstairs, your honor, but they're they
were submitted this morning by Jessica.
>> I need the originals. You're thinking
the originals are on file somewhere or
waiting to be filed. See what Missy
finds. Maybe they'll find the originals
at the clerk.
>> What? Judge, I'm sorry. I'm back now.
>> Well, she said they'll bring up, if I
understood, Miss Gillette, right,
they're bringing up copies, but where
are the originals?
>> I I think I actually have a copy because
I was asking them today about it. So,
>> well, I need
>> I can print you off the copies that I
got sent.
>> Copies. I need I need original
documentation that these people had
notice of this hearing either in the
form of a returned summons or a citation
and I don't have one of anything to show
that they know about this hearing today.
>> Your honor, the citations, we get a
xerox of them. We don't get the
originals. The originals normally stay
either in the file with the sheriff's
office now or they go straight upstairs.
But this had to be long formed because
it's marijuana
and so
>> well even with the long form I would
accept you don't you don't have the originals
originals
you want you have you have copies. Have
those been filed with the clerk?
>> They have been filed. They didn't make
it into their file. Do you know why?
>> Well because that's the clerks.
>> Well Missy, did you check with the clerks?
Yes, I just checked with them and they
have not been they do not have them.
They're not in the the queue to approve.
>> I know they're not in the queue. I
looked through the queue. Oh, unless you
mean their Q. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> What I'm going to do now, I'm looking at
copies of tickets, and I've seen enough
tickets over the years to know these are
tickets. And they are they do appear to
be signed by the signature I know as
Blake Fischers, although I'm not a
expert in handwriting, but I am not
comfortable issuing any kind of failure
to appear warrants if there's no
documentation in the file. These are
just handcopied to or handed to me. But
once they are filed,
then I would not hesitate to issue
warrants for their failures to appear.
So, I'm going to set these two cases
over till next Tuesday. By then, I'm
sure that we'll figure out whether the
why those haven't been filed
and uh then if they're not here at that
date and time, we'll issue warrants. But
they'll have to be given notice of the
new date and time. And it looks like
they're out of Witchaw, Kansas. Yes. So,
>> if I have to issue new summones, then
it's going to be more than a week
because I have to issue them, send them
to Witchah, and have them served on
them. They have their notices to appear complaints.
