State v. Hudson

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Allegrucci, J.:

This is an appeal by the State upon a question reserved, pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3602(b)(3). Although stated in differing ways by the parties, the question before this court is whether the State may charge a defendant with felony, rather than misdemeanor, obstruction of official duty or legal process based on facts about the defendant’s status which were unknown to the arresting officer at the time of the arrest.

Tire facts are not in dispute. Officer Biggs of the Topeka Police Department saw a vehicle run a stop sign. When the officer…