Opinion ID: 2524957
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Criminal Inquisition Statutory Scheme

Text: K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101 et seq. governs the conduct of inquisitions in criminal cases in Kansas. K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(1) authorizes the attorney general, if he or she has knowledge of any alleged violation of Kansas law, to apply to a district judge to conduct an inquisition. Once the attorney general's verified application setting forth the alleged violation of the law is filed, the judge shall issue a subpoena for the witnesses named in such praecipe commanding them to appear and testify concerning the matters under investigation. K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(1). K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101 does not mention subpoenas duces tecum such as those at issue here, but they are used regularly in criminal cases across the state. Our Court of Appeals has previously held that such subpoenas may issue in a prosecutor's inquisition focused on violations of narcotics laws under K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(2). Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Miller, 2 Kan. App. 2d 558, 583 P.2d 1042, rev. denied 225 Kan. 845 (1978). In addition, this court has implicitly upheld the Southwestern Bell decision on at least three separate occasions. See State ex rel. Brant v. Bank of America, 272 Kan. 182, 188, 31 P.3d 952 (2001) (State Securities Commissioner subpoenas of bank documents in connection with administrative investigation); State v. Schultz, 252 Kan. 819, 822-23, 850 P.2d 818 (1993) (inquisition subpoenas of bank, phone records); State ex rel. Cranford v. Bishop, 230 Kan. 799, 800-01, 640 P.2d 1271 (1982) (district court has the inherent power to refuse to issue subpoenas to avoid abuse of judicial process); see also State, ex rel. v. Rohleder, 208 Kan. 193, 490 P.2d 374 (1971) (pre- Southwestern Bell decision; inquisition subpoena sought testimony and production of books, records, and invoices). We agree that both the K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(1) judicial inquisition of this case and the K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(2) prosecutorial inquisition at issue in the Court of Appeals' Southwestern Bell case permit subpoenas calling for the production of documents as well as subpoenas calling for witness testimony. The statute also provides that [a]ny person who disobeys a subpoena issued for such appearance or refuses to be sworn as a witness or answer any proper question propounded during the inquisition, may be adjudged in contempt of court. K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(3). Similarly, this provision would apply if a person or entity refuses without justification to respond to an inquisition subpoena duces tecum. The statute is silent on the standard that governs a district court's pre-subpoena review of the attorney general's allegations, and there appears to be some confusion on this point in the record before us: The two subpoenas at issue recite that Judge Anderson has found  probable cause exists to believe that evidence of a crime or crimes may be located in the medical records identified. (Emphasis added.) However, two of the questions Judge Anderson directed to our attention in this proceeding specifically assume that a district judge's only duty before issuing inquisition subpoenas duces tecum is to find reasonable suspicion that evidence of the alleged violations will be found in the documents sought. Although the parties have not focused on this question, we believe it necessary to address it so that we are responsive to Judge Anderson's questions. The purpose of an inquisition is to gather information to determine whether probable cause exists to support a criminal prosecution. State v. Cathey, 241 Kan. 715, 720, 741 P.2d 738 (1987); In re Investigation into Homicide of T.H., 23 Kan. App. 2d 471, 473, 932 P.2d 1023 (1997). It does not make sense to require a prosecutor seeking an inquisition subpoena to meet a probable cause standard in order to gather information he or she needs to determine whether probable cause for prosecution exists. We therefore hold that the standard to be employed by a district judge evaluating whether to issue subpoenas for witness testimony or documents under K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 22-3101(1) is reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause.