State Ex Rel. Stephan v. Lane

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Schroeder, C.J.:

This is an appeal by the attorney general from a decision of the trial court holding that a proceeding under K.S.A. 1979 Supp. 17-1366 etseq., constitutes an unconstitutional taking of private property, without due process and without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

The 1979 Kansas legislature passed an act relating to the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries, K.S.A. 1979 Supp. 17-1366 through -1368. Pursuant to the terms of the act the attorney general investigated…