State v. Phillips

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Luckert, J.:

After a trial ended with a hung jury, Kelvin Phillips, Jr., was retried and convicted of the premeditated first-degree murder of James Earl Dyer, Jr.; conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; and criminal possession of a firearm. On direct appeal from Phillips’ second trial, we consider the three issues Phillips raises. First, we hold that the Kansas criminal mistrial statute, K.S.A. 22-3423, does not require the use of specific words in order for a mistrial to be recognized or to preserve a defendant’s constitutional right to be protected…