State v. Qualls

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Biles, J.:

A juiy convicted James Arthur Qualls of the premeditated first-degree murder of Joseph Beier in violation of K.S.A. 21-3401(a). Qualls admits shooting Beier during a bar fight but appeals his conviction, arguing: (1) there was insufficient evidence of premeditation for first-degree premeditated murder; (2) the district court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter; and (3) he was entitled to an instruction on self-defense.

We reject his argument that the evidence of premeditation was insufficient to support the…