State v. Hankins

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 109,123 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. ANTHONY C. HANKINS, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. A claim that a procedural bar to the appellate review of a sentence violates due process does not fit within the limited definition of an illegal sentence for K.S.A. 22-3504 purposes. 2. Liberal rules of construction cannot transform the reality of a pleading's content or the arguments being advanced, even when the litigant filing the pleading is pro se. 3. In Kansas, a criminal defendant cannot stipulate to an illegal sentence. 4. Under Kansas law, the…