Case Name: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Sheena THOMAS, Appellant.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Kansas
Decision Date: 2018-04-13
Citations: 415 P.3d 430
Docket Number: No. 109,951
Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee,
v.
Sheena THOMAS, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Pacific Reporter 3d
Volume: 415
Pages: 430–449

Head Matter:
STATE of Kansas, Appellee,
v.
Sheena THOMAS, Appellant.
No. 109,951
Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed April 13, 2018.
Samuel Schirer, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Matt J. Maloney, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.

Opinion:
The opinion of the court was delivered by Stegall, J.:
A jury convicted exotic dancer Sheena Thomas of one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon against her fellow dancer, Traci Borntrager. The attack occurred at an establishment called Pleasures, the two women's place of work. The weapon in question-a stiletto heel-was an accoutrement of the trade. Following her conviction, the district court sentenced Thomas to serve 24 months' probation and informed her of her duty to register as a violent offender under the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KORA), K.S.A. 22-4901 et seq. However, while the jury found the stiletto heel was indeed a deadly weapon, the district court itself neither considered that question nor made such a finding on the record.
Thomas has attacked her conviction on appeal in three ways:
(1) she claims the district court erred when it disallowed cross-examination questioning of Borntrager concerning a separate civil lawsuit Borntrager had filed against their mutual employer; (2) she claims the prosecutor erred in closing arguments by impermissibly misstating evidence and diluting the State's burden of proof; and (3) she claims cumulative error deprived her of a fair trial. The Court of Appeals rejected each of these arguments, as do we.
Thomas also argued on appeal that because the district court never made a finding on the record that the stiletto heel was a deadly weapon, she has no obligation to register as a violent offender. While the Court of Appeals agreed with Thomas, it characterized the district court's lack of a finding as an "error" and decided that although the registration requirement had to be vacated, the case could be remanded to the district court in order for the lower court to consider afresh the deadly weapon question. Thomas petitioned this court for review of all adverse decisions. Specifically, she now claims that because registration under KORA is not part of her sentence, the Court of Appeals cannot remand the matter to the district court.
Because the State did not file a cross-petition for review, we will not review the panel's decision that without a court-made deadly weapon finding in the record, the registration requirement is not triggered. Though in another case decided today, we conclude that such a finding is in fact required before the obligation to register will arise under KORA. See State v. Marinelli , 307 Kan. -, - - -, 415 P.3d 405, 2018 WL 1770220 (2018) (No. 111,227, this day decided), slip op. at 26-27. Here, however, we are limited to reviewing the availability of a remand to "remedy" any lack of court-made findings.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
When three law enforcement officers responded to a disturbance call from Pleasures, they learned two dancers-"Sugar" and "Gypsy"-had been involved in a fight. Sugar and Gypsy turned out to be, respectively, Thomas and Borntrager. The altercation began with a dispute over a sale of clothing and ended when Borntrager sustained a significant cut to her forehead and a concussion.
The State charged Thomas with a single count of aggravated battery, and the case proceeded to a three-day jury trial. Borntrager testified she was having a drink with a patron when Thomas approached her and demanded a refund for the clothing. Borntrager claimed Thomas was very aggressive, so they went together to the club's manager to resolve the dispute. During the conversation, Borntrager said Thomas tried to attack her, but the manager separated the two. Borntrager returned to the patron's table. Shortly thereafter, Thomas rushed her and stabbed her in the forehead with a "spiked shoe heel." Two patrons corroborated Borntrager's testimony at trial.
Thomas presented a different account. According to her, Borntrager was the initial aggressor. Thomas claimed Borntrager approached her while she was at the bar speaking to the manager. Borntrager shoved Thomas, and the club manager separated the two. Thomas testified that after the shove, she was walking toward the dressing room when Borntrager came at her swinging, and they eventually went to the ground where they "rumbled on the floor." Thomas denied hitting Borntrager with a spiked high-heeled shoe, but stated that they had ahold of each other's hair and were hitting each other in the face.
The club's cook, Reuben Pickens, witnessed only the first confrontation at the bar. He testified that Borntrager was the initial aggressor and that she "jumped up at Sugar, said bitch, you want to go," swung, and struck Thomas before they were separated. Pickens told the jury he did not witness the second altercation.
The jury ultimately found Thomas guilty of aggravated battery pursuant to K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 21-5413(b)(1)(B), which required a finding that Thomas used a deadly weapon. The district court sentenced Thomas to serve 24 months' probation and imposed an underlying 12-month prison sentence. The court also ordered Thomas to pay restitution but left the matter open for 30 days so the parties could determine the precise amount. Thereafter, the court told Thomas: "This is a registration case. I am informing you, you have a duty under the Kansas Offender Registration Act to register according to that law." The court then reviewed the notice of duty to register with Thomas and concluded sentencing.
Thomas filed a notice of appeal the same day as sentencing.
Nearly one month later, the court entered an order establishing the amount of restitution as $269.86 to be paid to Kansas Medicaid, thereby making the notice of appeal effective, depriving the district court of jurisdiction, and vesting jurisdiction in the appellate courts. See State v. Hall , 298 Kan. 978, Syl. ¶ 4, 319 P.3d 506 (2014).
The Court of Appeals upheld Thomas' conviction but vacated her registration requirement. State v. Thomas , No. 109,951, 2014 WL 3020029 (Kan. App. 2014) (unpublished opinion). The panel ruled Thomas' Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was not violated when the district court excluded evidence concerning a civil lawsuit Borntrager had previously filed and settled against Pleasures. The Court of Appeals held that evidence of a settled lawsuit was "only marginally relevant-if at all" and introduction of such evidence would have confused the jury. 2014 WL 3020029, at *4-5. Moreover, the panel determined any potential error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt given the strength of the evidence against Thomas. 2014 WL 3020029, at *5-6. The Court of Appeals also rejected Thomas' claims of prosecutorial error (then styled as "prosecutorial misconduct") 2014 WL 3020029, at *7-10.
Lastly, the panel determined that although there was evidence in the record that could have permitted the court to find Thomas used a deadly weapon during the commission of a person felony, the district court in fact did not make this specific finding. 2014 WL 3020029, at *11-12. To remedy what the Court of Appeals styled an "error," it vacated Thomas' registration requirement and remanded the case to the district court "to determine if the high-heel shoe used in the commission of the crime concluded [sic ] a deadly weapon requiring registration under the KORA." 2014 WL 3020029, at *12.
Thomas petitioned this court for review. In addition to the claims of error she asserted below, she now claims the Court of Appeals did not have the authority to remand her case to the district court for it to make the necessary deadly weapon finding because the court has already imposed a legal sentence. We granted Thomas' petition for review on all issues.
ANALYSIS
We begin with Thomas' claims of reversible trial error, then proceed to the Court of Appeals' treatment of her alleged duty to register as a violent offender.
The district court did not err by excluding evidence concerning the civil lawsuit between Borntrager and Pleasures.
During cross-examination, Thomas' attorney asked Borntrager if she had sued Pleasures following the fight. The State objected on relevancy grounds, and the objection was sustained. A moment before the State could lodge its objection, however, Borntrager answered, "Yes, I did." A bench conference and an off-the-record discussion was then conducted. After the discussion, Thomas' attorney resumed questioning Borntrager and did not ask about the lawsuit.
Later, outside the presence of the jury, the court made a record regarding the objection. The State proffered that Borntrager had filed a civil claim against Pleasures and that it had been settled for $5,000. The court stated computer records confirmed the suit had been dismissed. The court then ruled:
"[A]fter hearing some argument, and basically defense's position was it shows bias, motive, and the State basically objected, but the position was, well, that's going to open the door to other testimony. . [M]y ruling is that it's not relevant. And mostly because the matter is settled. If there was a . pending lawsuit, I think that . could make a difference for me. But it was proffered to me that the matter was settled. And so when I take that and compared with the . issues and the door that would be opened and all the collateral information that the answer to that question would open up, . including possible insurance issues and . remedial actions.... But there would be an incredible amount of information that would become relevant by the State, then, to address why it was settled, whether insurance was involved and that sort of thing. All of those are collateral to the issue here. And so weighing those two things, . the lack of relevancy with the problem that that open door would cause, as well as the relative effect of that additional information was the reason why I ruled like I did.
"Now, that being said, you all are welcome to supplement the record for its accuracy or inaccuracy as to my memory.
"[State's Attorney]: The only thing I would add, Judge, I made the point that the lawsuit wasn't pending at the time she gave her initial statement to the police and that was something that obviously came after the fact. And it was not pending today as she testified. So other than that, I don't believe I have any additional facts.
.
"[Thomas' Attorney]: Other than the fact that after what he is saying, obviously she-by the time she did give her statement to the police it was the next day. I think any reasonable person could foresee that if she was injured at some place that she might be able to sue them, so that could cause her to make statements the way she did to the detective."
On appeal, Thomas claims the district court's ruling violated her constitutional right to confront the State's witnesses. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that "the accused shall enjoy the right . to be confronted with the witnesses against him." See also Kan. Const. Bill of Rights, § 10 (providing a criminal defendant the right "to meet the witness face to face"). Inherent in the Sixth Amendment's right of confrontation is a criminal defendant's right of cross-examination. Bruton v. United States , 391 U.S. 123, 126, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed. 2d 476 (1968). Indeed, "[t]he primary purpose of the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause is to give the accused the opportunity for cross-examination to attack the credibility of the State's witnesses." State v. Friday , 297 Kan. 1023, Syl. ¶ 1, 306 P.3d 265 (2013). Cross-examination, which is essential to a fair trial, "helps assure the 'accuracy of the truth-determining process.' " Chambers v. Mississippi , 410 U.S. 284, 295, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed. 2d 297 (1973).
The right to cross-examine, however, is not absolute. In certain circumstances it must "bow to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process." Chambers , 410 U.S. at 295, 93 S.Ct. 1038 ; see State v. Reed , 302 Kan. 227, 246, 352 P.3d 530 (" 'The Sixth Amendment right of confrontation is satisfied if the accused confronted the witnesses against him at any stage of the proceedings in the same case and has had an opportunity of cross-examination.' "), cert. denied , - U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 344, 193 L.Ed.2d 232 (2015).
The United States Supreme Court has described the balance between a defendant's right to confrontation and a district court's evidentiary discretion:
"Indeed, ' "[t]he main and essential purpose of confrontation is to secure for the opponent the opportunity of cross-examination." ' [Citations omitted.] Of particular relevance here, '[w]e have recognized that the exposure of a witness' motivation in testifying is a proper and important function of the constitutionally protected right of cross-examination.' [Citations omitted.] It does not follow, of course, that the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment prevents a trial judge from imposing any limits on defense counsel's inquiry into the potential bias of a prosecution witness. On the contrary, trial judges retain wide latitude insofar as the Confrontation Clause is concerned to impose reasonable limits on such cross-examination based on concerns about, among other things, harassment, prejudice, confusion of the issues, the witness' safety, or interrogation that is repetitive or only marginally relevant. And as we observed earlier this Term, 'the Confrontation Clause guarantees an opportunity for effective cross-examination, not cross-examination that is effective in whatever way, and to whatever extent, the defense might wish.' Delaware v. Fensterer , 474 U.S. 15, 20 [106 S.Ct. 292, 88 L.Ed.2d 15] (1985) (per curiam)." Delaware v. Van Arsdall , 475 U.S. 673, 678-79, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed. 2d 674 (1986).
Because a district court may exercise reasonable control over the scope of cross-examination, appellate courts review the court's decision to limit cross-examination for an abuse of discretion. State v. Wells , 296 Kan. 65, 86, 290 P.3d 590 (2012). A district court abuses its discretion when (1) no reasonable person would have taken the view adopted by the district court; (2) the judicial action is based on an error of law; or (3) the judicial action is based on an error of fact. State v. Marshall , 303 Kan. 438, 445, 362 P.3d 587 (2015). Since Thomas is the party asserting an abuse of discretion, she bears the burden of demonstrating the abuse. See Friday , 297 Kan. at 1044, 306 P.3d 265.
This court previously addressed a similar situation in State v. Rowland , 172 Kan. 224, 239 P.2d 949 (1952). In that case, several individuals accused Rowland of financial crimes that led to criminal charges against him. Before trial, Rowland filed a civil lawsuit against some of the alleged victims. At trial, Rowland attempted to attack the witnesses' credibility during cross-examination by questioning them about his pending lawsuit, but the trial court disallowed the questioning.
On appeal we held Rowland was entitled to a new trial because the district court "cut off completely the right of the defendant to cross-examine those witnesses who had been defrauded and whose testimony was absolutely necessary to a conviction, as to their being parties to the civil action brought by him against them and interested in the outcome of the criminal action." 172 Kan. at 229, 239 P.2d 949. Rowland suggests that an ongoing civil lawsuit involving the defendant and affecting the pecuniary interests of the State's witnesses is relevant impeachment evidence that may be explored on cross-examination during the criminal trial. See State v. Frazier , No. 112,368, 2016 WL 1545628, at *18-19 (Kan. App. 2016) (unpublished opinion) (Atcheson, J., dissenting) (arguing the district court erred by excluding evidence of the witness' ongoing civil action against the defendant for injuries arising out of the same acts for which defendant was being prosecuted), rev. denied 306 Kan. 1323, - P.3d - (2017); see also State v. Etienne , 146 N.H. 115, 118, 767 A.2d 455 (2001) ("We reiterate our holding that a criminal defendant's right to confront adverse witnesses necessarily includes the right to cross-examine regarding motive and bias arising from contemporaneous civil actions in which the witness has a financial interest."); Maslin v. State , 124 Md. App. 535, 541-42, 723 A.2d 490 (1999) (finding that defendant should have been able to cross-examine the victim-witness regarding a pending $1.6 million civil lawsuit, which arose in the context of a police investigation into the victim's allegations of sexual abuse by the defendant); State v. Milton , 280 Mont. 142, 145-46, 930 P.2d 28 (1996) (a criminal defendant may cross-examine a witness about a pending lawsuit regarding the events that gave rise to the criminal prosecution); Shelby v. State , 819 S.W.2d 544, 551 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (trial court violated the defendant's right of confrontation when it refused to allow the defendant to cross-examine the victim's mother about a pending $125,000 lawsuit against the defendant and the owners of the apartment complex at which the victim was allegedly sexually abused by the defendant). But Borntrager's suit was settled by the time of her trial testimony. Decisions elsewhere suggest that once the lawsuit has settled, the motive for providing false testimony either evaporates or at least dissipates to a level at which introduction of the collateral action would primarily serve to confuse and confound the jury. See Moran v. State , 350 S.W.3d 240, 247 (Tex. App. 2011) (district court did not abuse its discretion by disallowing defense counsel from questioning victim's mother about a settled civil lawsuit against the defendant); State v. Otto , 50 Conn. App. 1, 9, 717 A.2d 775 (1998) ( "Although a pending claim or civil suit by one of the witnesses might suggest evidence of bias or interest because the outcome of the criminal trial would bear directly on the success of the civil action, there was no such pending action here.").
Moreover, Thomas was not named as a party to the suit, which further attenuates the relevance of the suit to alleged bias on Borntrager's part. Finally, our review is hampered by the fact that Thomas never made a proffer on the record regarding the civil lawsuit. "[A]n appellate court may not speculate as to what may have existed at the time of the hearing but rather must consider the evidence of record and base its decisions on facts in the record." Cross v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue , 279 Kan. 501, 513, 110 P.3d 438 (2005).
Simply put, the district court did not "cut off completely" Thomas' ability to confront Borntrager through cross-examination, but rather imposed reasonable limits that were based on legitimate concerns. Thomas has failed to articulate, let alone demonstrate, how the existence or factual details of the civil lawsuit could have provided a basis to impeach Borntrager's testimony. We can discern no abuse of discretion in the district court's ruling.
Any prosecutorial error was harmless.
Thomas next claims the prosecutor committed reversible error in closing arguments. At the time the parties submitted their briefs to the Court of Appeals and Thomas filed her petition for review with this court, we analyzed "prosecutorial misconduct" claims using the framework described in State v. Tosh , 278 Kan. 83, 91 P.3d 1204 (2004). By the time the case reached oral arguments, however, we had overruled portions of Tosh and adopted a new framework for what is now known as "prosecutorial error." State v. Sherman , 305 Kan. 88, 378 P.3d 1060 (2016). Thomas filed a letter of additional authority in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 6.09(b) (2018 Kan. S. Ct. R. 39), noting the change in the law.
Generally, an opinion changing the law acts prospectively, applying " 'to all cases, state or federal, pending on direct review or not yet final.' " State v. Mitchell , 297 Kan. 118, 124-25, 298 P.3d 349 (2013) (quoting State v. Berry , 292 Kan. 493, 514, 254 P.3d 1276 [2011] ). But because this case was fully briefed under Tosh , and the parties have not had the opportunity to fully argue this case under the Sherman rubric, we will apply both Sherman and Tosh . See State v. Kleypas , 305 Kan. 224, 314, 382 P.3d 373 (2016), cert. denied - U.S. -, 137 S.Ct. 1381, 197 L.Ed.2d 560 (2017). In the end, Thomas is not entitled to reversal under either standard.
Sherman and Tosh begin with the same question-whether the prosecutor's comments fall outside the wide latitude granted to prosecutors. Sherman , 305 Kan. at 104, 109, 378 P.3d 1060 ("The first step in this review . is sound and is left undisturbed by our decision today."); Tosh , 278 Kan. at 85, 91 P.3d 1204. If error is found, Tosh dictated a three-factor reversibility analysis with no single factor controlling: (1) whether the misconduct was gross and flagrant; (2) whether it was motivated by prosecutorial ill will; and (3) whether the evidence was of such a direct and overwhelming nature that the misconduct would likely have had little weight in the minds of jurors. Tosh, 278 Kan. at 93, 91 P.3d 1204. The reversibility test under Sherman simply asks whether the State has carried its burden to demonstrate "beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of will not or did not affect the outcome of the trial in light of the entire record, i.e. , where there is no reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the verdict." Sherman , 305 Kan. 88, Syl. ¶ 8, 378 P.3d 1060.
Thomas first contends the State diluted its burden of proof during closing arguments by making the following comments:
"[A]s we talked at length about in jury selection, the next instruction, it is your responsibility, it's for you to determine the weight and the credit to give the testimony of each witness. When somebody gets up here and testifies, you decide how much that testimony is going to be worth to you, if that testimony is credible or not, and how that's going to affect whether the State has met its burden of proof or not. And if you find a witness's testimony credible, then that evidence is going to weight in that regard.
"If you find a witness's testimony is not credible, you may ask yourself why. You may realize that the incredible . testimony of that witness actually tips the scale back the other way because . whatever their motive may be for testifying in such a way. That's what this whole case is about, credibility."
The prosecutor later returned to this point on rebuttal:
"So the question that you have back there is whether [the patron's] testimony is consistent with the other witnesses, that the defendant had a shoe in her hand. If it is credible-if this testimony is credible, the only reasonable conclusion you can draw is the defendant is guilty. That's it. The inconsistencies between the witnesses' testimony, this is real life. These are real people. That is what you would expect to see happen."
Initially, we note that Thomas' counsel did not object to this comment. While this does not impede our review of the issue, " '[T]he presence or absence of an objection may figure into our analysis of the alleged misconduct.' " State v. Sean , 306 Kan. 963, 974, 399 P.3d 168 (2017) (quoting State v. King , 288 Kan. 333, 349, 204 P.3d 585 [2009] ).
"A prosecutor commits misconduct by making arguments that dilute the State's burden of proof or attempt to define reasonable doubt." State v. Holt , 300 Kan. 985, Syl. ¶ 4, 336 P.3d 312 (2014). Thus, "prosecutors embellish on the definition of the burden of proof in criminal cases at their peril." State v. Magallanez , 290 Kan. 906, 914, 235 P.3d 460 (2010).
Thomas correctly points out that this court has found that the State exceeds its wide latitude when it equates reasonable doubt with a common sense, intuition, or a probability burden. See Holt , 300 Kan. at 1003-04, 336 P.3d 312 (the State diluted its burden of proof when it told the jury that it was its " 'responsibility . to decide what is possible and what is probable' "); Magallanez , 290 Kan. at 914, 235 P.3d 460 (holding that the burden of proof was impermissibly diluted when the prosecutor stated that "the measure of reasonable doubt is 'an individual standard . a standard that when you believe he's guilty you've passed beyond' "); State v. Brinklow , 288 Kan. 39, 49-50, 200 P.3d 1225 (2009) (a prosecutor erred by using the phrase "sometimes you just know" to describe the State's burden of proof); State v. Mitchell , 269 Kan. 349, 360, 7 P.3d 1135 (2000) (holding that "[t]he remarks by the prosecutor in this case defining 'reasonable doubt' as 'common sense' were improper").
Here, Thomas argues the prosecutor's comments conflated the State's burden of proof with a mere credibility determination. We disagree. Rather than attempting to alter the burden of proof, the prosecutor was simply reminding the jury of its duty to determine witness credibility. See State v. Chanthaseng , 293 Kan. 140, 148, 261 P.3d 889 (2011) (a prosecutor may explain to the jury what it should look for in assessing witness credibility without offering the prosecutor's personal opinion of a witness' credibility).
Appellate courts consider the prosecutor's comments in the context in which they were made rather than in isolation. State v. Davis , 306 Kan. 400, 413, 394 P.3d 817 (2017). Immediately before the prosecutor made these challenged comments, he unequivocally told the jury that the State was required to prove the elements of aggravated battery beyond a reasonable doubt. We find no error in these statements.
At another point during closing arguments, the prosecutor stated:
"[Pickens] doesn't undercut the credibility. [Pickens] tells you the defendant comes up to [Borntrager] and says . his testimony, bitch, you want to go. Again, the defendant is being the aggressor.
"And the defendant's testimony certainly doesn't undercut-
"[Thomas' Attorney]: That's a misstatement of evidence.
"The Court: The jury will be the decider of the evidence. Go ahead."
Pickens actually testified: "I was sitting at the bar, me and the owner. Sugar and Gypsy had an altercation. She jumped up at Sugar, said bitch, you want to go. We got in between them, broke it up. Gypsy, she swung at Sugar, struck her first, and we separated them from there." The State concedes the prosecutor erred by getting Pickens' testimony essentially backwards. Thus, the State argued facts not in evidence. See State v. Tahah , 293 Kan. 267, 277, 262 P.3d 1045 (2011) ("It is fundamental that prosecutors must not argue facts not in evidence."). Therefore, we must determine whether the comment denied Thomas a fair trial.
Under a Tosh analysis-i.e., grossness, flagrancy, and ill will-the record reflects the prosecutor did not repeat, dwell on, or emphasize the misstatement or disregard a ruling. Instead, Thomas objected and the State promptly moved on to the rest of its argument. This was clearly an isolated occurrence.
Further, the record does not support a finding that the comment was made with ill will. Pickens' testimony referred to the defendant and victim by their stage names-Sugar and Gypsy. We think it understandable if the prosecutor simply confused the parties. Moreover, the court instructed the jury that "[s]tatements, arguments, and remarks of counsel are intended to help you in understanding the evidence and in applying the law but they are not evidence. If any statements are made that are not supported by evidence, they should be disregarded." And after the prosecutor made the misstatement, the judge again reminded the jury it was the "decider of the evidence." See State v. Huddleston , 298 Kan. 941, 956, 318 P.3d 140 (2014) ("[T]he trial court instructed the jury that it was to base its decision on the law and the facts, and nothing suggests the jury did not follow that admonition. Although these instructions do not give the prosecutor a free pass on misconduct, they are appropriate considerations when evaluating whether a jury was misled."). Accordingly, applying Tosh , we find the error was harmless.
Under Sherman , we have moved away from considering the prosecutor's motivation or intent and now focus exclusively on the error's impact on the verdict. See Sherman , 305 Kan. at 111, 378 P.3d 1060 ("The focus of the inquiry is on the impact of the error on the verdict."). "[C]onsider[ing] any and all alleged indicators of prejudice," we must determine whether the State has met its burden to show that there is no reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the verdict. 305 Kan. at 111, 378 P.3d 1060.
We conclude the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. First, Pickens' testimony did not directly concern the aggravated battery itself. Pickens admitted at trial that he did not see the fight during which Borntrager suffered the stiletto-inflicted wound. Second, defense counsel clarified Pickens' testimony following the misstatement:
"[Borntrager] wants you to believe that she did nothing wrong in this. That she's an innocent party, that she did nothing wrong. Well, if she did nothing wrong, why would anybody ever say that she went up there and said words, like [Pickens] came in and what [Pickens] testified to. He said Traci said let the bitch go. Let's go."
These factors, along with the district court's instruction to the jury that it should disregard any statement not supported by the evidence, lead us to conclude the prosecutor's misstatement of fact did not have any effect on the verdict.
Cumulative error did not deprive Thomas of a fair trial.
Thomas' final claim of trial error is that the cumulative effect of trial errors deprived her of a fair trial. "But if there is no error or only a single error, cumulative error does not supply a basis for reversal." State v. Love , 305 Kan. 716, 737, 387 P.3d 820 (2017). Since the only error we can discern is the prosecutor's misstatement of the evidence, there are not multiple errors to cumulate.
As such, we affirm Thomas' conviction for aggravated battery.
The Court of Appeals improperly remanded the case to the district court for resentencing.
Having disposed of Thomas' alleged trial errors, we take up the remand dictated by the Court of Appeals in order for the district court to make a deadly weapon finding.
At the time of Thomas' offense, KORA defined a violent offender as "any person who . on or after July 1, 2006, is convicted of any person felony and the court makes a finding on the record that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of such person felony." K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 22-4902(e)(2). On November 7, 2012-the date the jury found Thomas guilty and the district court approved the verdict- K.S.A. 2012 Supp. 22-4904(a)(1)(A) directed the court "[a]t the time of conviction or adjudication for an offense requiring registration . the court shall . [i]nform any offender, on the record, of the procedure to register and the requirements of K.S.A. 22-4905...". Prior to July 1, 2012, courts were directed to do so at the "time of sentencing or disposition." L. 2012, ch. 149, § 3.
Nonetheless, the district court did not inform Thomas of her duty to register on the date of her conviction. At sentencing, the court told Thomas she had a duty to register under KORA. At no time in any of the proceedings did the district court make a finding on the record that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the crime. The journal entry of judgment makes no mention of Thomas' duty to register. The Court of Appeals held that the district court's failure to make a deadly weapon finding meant she could not be required to register, so it "vacate[d] that portion of Thomas' sentence . and remand[ed] this matter to the district court" so that it could make a finding that the shoe was a deadly weapon. Thomas , 2014 WL 3020029, at *12.
Thomas agrees with the Court of Appeals that the district court was required by KORA to make an explicit finding on the record that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the crime in order to trigger a duty to register as a violent offender. The State did not cross-petition the panel's ruling, so this issue is not properly before us. See Supreme Court Rule 8.03(h)(1) (2018 Kan. S. Ct. R. 56) ("If review is not limited, the issues before the Supreme Court include all issues properly before the Court of Appeals which the petition for review or cross-petition allege were decided erroneously by the Court of Appeals."); see also In re Care & Treatment of Ellison , 305 Kan. 519, 525-26, 385 P.3d 15 (2016).
The only issue before us is whether the Court of Appeals' remand was proper. Thomas argues that once her conviction and sentence are affirmed, there is nothing left of the case to "remand" to the district court. Her argument presumes that registration is not part of a sentence. Implicitly, the Court of Appeals considered registration to be part of the criminal sentence. If the lower court is correct, it makes sense to conclude that if a registration requirement is vacated, a remand is theoretically required for resentencing. See State v. Dickey , 305 Kan. 217, 222, 380 P.3d 230 (2016) (vacating and remanding for resentencing an illegal sentence that was premised on an erroneous criminal history score).
In State v. Simmons , 50 Kan. App. 2d 448, 329 P.3d 523 (2014), a different panel of the Court of Appeals attempted to answer this question. The Simmons panel construed KORA's statutory scheme as a whole and held "that the legislature intended the KORA registration requirements to be imposed automatically by operation of law without court involvement and to represent nonpunitive collateral consequences of judgment that are distinct from, and not a part of, a criminal sentence." 50 Kan. App. 2d at 463, 329 P.3d 523. In Marinelli , we dissected the Simmons panel's determination that the registration requirements are always imposed automatically without judicial intervention, concluding the panel painted with too broad of a brush. Marinelli , 307 Kan. at -, 415 P.3d 405, slip op. at 21.
We held in Marinelli that there are actually distinct sources of the obligation to register in KORA. Sometimes no judicial intervention is necessary at all. For example, KORA describes circumstances in which a mere conviction is sufficient to render an individual an "offender." See Marinelli , 307 Kan. at - - -, 415 P.3d 405, slip op. at 21-22; see also K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(a) (defining an offender in part as a sex offender; violent offender; drug offender); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(b)(4), (c) (listing crimes that qualify an individual as a sex offender); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(e) (listing crimes that qualify an individual as a violent offender); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(f) (listing crimes that qualify an individual as a drug offender).
In other instances, a judge must make a finding of fact, and that finding, along with the conviction, triggers the duty to register. See K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(e)(2) (defining "violent offender" as person convicted of person felony and court makes finding on the record that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the person felony); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(c)(18) (defining "sexually violent crime" as any act determined beyond a reasonable doubt to have been sexually motivated unless the court, on the record, finds the act involved nonforcible sexual conduct, the victim was at least 14, and the offender was not more than 4 years older than victim); K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(b)(3), (d) (providing an individual qualifies as a sex offender if he or she has been determined to be a sexually violent predator). And sometimes a judicial finding of fact may remove an otherwise automatic duty to register. See K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(b)(2) (defining "sex offender" to include juveniles adjudicated of a registrable offense unless court finds on the record the act involved nonforcible conduct, victim was at least 14, and offender was not more than 4 years older than victim).
In a third set of circumstances, the obligation to register arises out of a district court's "exercise of discretion" to order registration. See Marinelli , 307 Kan. at - - -, 415 P.3d 405, slip op. at 21-23. See K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4906(f), (g) ; K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4902(a)(5) ; K.S.A. 2017 Supp. 22-4906(a)(1)(M).
Once one of these sets of statutorily defined conditions exists-i.e., (1) the mere fact of a conviction classifies the defendant as an "offender"; (2) the fact of a conviction plus some statutorily permitted judicial fact-finding classifies the defendant as an "offender"; or (3) a judicial order determines, through the exercise of judicial discretion, that the defendant should be considered an "offender"- KORA creates a "springing" obligation-that is, the duty to register under KORA springs into existence by operation of law. When the statutorily described conditions precedent do not exist, there is and can be no duty to register.
In Thomas' case, the springing registration obligation alleged by the State is triggered when two statutorily prescribed conditions precedent exist: (1) a personal felony conviction; and (2) a factual finding on the record by the convicting court that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of the crime. See K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 22-4902(e)(2). As already stated, when the classification of a defendant as an "offender" requires district court fact-finding, as here, that fact-finding is itself one of the statutorily defined conditions precedent. Without such a fact-finding, the defendant cannot be an offender under KORA, and the obligation to register never springs into existence.
Moreover, the failure to make such a finding cannot be characterized as a "sentencing error." Rather, the registration obligation that the State alleges simply never materialized in this case. Once the case is appealed and the appeal is docketed, the district court loses jurisdiction. State v. Fritz , 299 Kan. 153, 155, 321 P.3d 763 (2014). And once the conviction and sentence are affirmed on appeal, the opportunity to generate the necessary conditions precedent to trigger a springing duty to register is extinguished. A remand in these circumstances amounts to giving the State a judicially created second bite at the registration apple-something that is wholly inconsistent with the springing character of the registration requirement at issue in this case.
The State argues that absent an objection below, we should presume the district court made the deadly weapon finding. It also argues the court can consider remand if meaningful appellate review is precluded. It relies on language from Hill v. Farm Bur. Mut. Ins. Co. , 263 Kan. 703, 952 P.2d 1286 (1998), where a litigant challenged an order quashing a subpoena, but did not raise the challenge in the district court. The record did not contain the district court's rationale for quashing the subpoena. The court held the litigant failed to demonstrate the district court abused its discretion, noting an appellant "has the burden to designate a record sufficient to establish the claimed error." 263 Kan. at 706, 952 P.2d 1286. It also noted:
"[A] litigant must object to inadequate findings of fact and conclusions of law in order to give the trial court an opportunity to correct them. In the absence of an objection, omissions in findings will not be considered on appeal. Where there has been no such objection, the trial court is presumed to have found all facts necessary to support the judgment." 263 Kan. at 706, 952 P.2d 1286.
This case is factually distinguishable. The State argues the registration requirement is valid under K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 22-4902(e)(2). That provision's plain language requires that "the court [make] a finding on the record that a deadly weapon was used...." The record does not contain that finding. The judicially made rule that a court presumes necessary fact-finding cannot fill the void left by the district court's failure to meet the statutory requirement in Thomas' case. " 'The plain language selected by the legislature, when it does not conflict with constitutional mandates, trumps both judicial decisions and the policies advocated by the parties .' " State v. Spencer Gifts, 304 Kan. 755, 761, 374 P.3d 680 (2016).
For the same reason, the absent finding does not frustrate meaningful appellate review because its very absence is fatal to the registration obligation under the State's proffered justification for it. Thomas has, therefore, met her burden of designating a record sufficient to establish that no duty to register exists.
Since the duty to register under KORA springs into existence by operation of law immediately upon the existence of statutorily prescribed conditions, it is not within or part of a criminal sentence. Given this, the absence of a court-made finding on the record that Thomas used a deadly weapon cannot be a sentencing error amenable to the remedy of a remand. Such an absence is not error at all- K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 22-4902(e)(2) does not affirmatively require the district court to consider and determine whether Thomas used a deadly weapon in the commission of her offense. The error here-an error of law-was the district court's declaration that Thomas is required to register. The absence of statutorily defined conditions precedent which would give rise to a duty to register is merely proof of that error. Therefore, the Court of Appeals is reversed only insofar as it improperly prolonged these proceedings. The remand order is vacated.
Affirmed in part and reversed in part.