Opinion ID: 2518358
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Did the Trial Court Err in Admitting Kesselring's Mail into Evidence?

Text: Kesselring's final argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence letters Kesselring wrote to his mother. Kesselring contends admission of the letters violated his Fifth Amendment right to be free from self-incrimination. Kesselring also intimates, without making a clear argument, that the seizure of the letters violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution because the letters were opened as part of a pattern to detect drug trafficking and [defendant's] expectation of privacy [was] violated. In responding to Kesselring's argument, the State first discusses the letters Kesselring wrote to Callarman and the handwriting exemplars obtained from Kesselring. However, Kesselring is not challenging the admission of either his letters to Callarman or the handwriting exemplars. With regard to the letters to Kesselring's mother, the State argues those letters were never seized by the State, therefore they could not have been admitted in violation of Kesselring's Fourth Amendment rights. There were several sets of letters and other examples of Kesselring's handwriting admitted at trial, but the only letters to Kesselring's mother were letters Kesselring himself offered as defense exhibits. Kesselring wrote those letters to his mother while he was in Norton Correctional Facility (Norton), and his mother testified it appeared the letters had been opened by Norton before being sent to her. Certainly, Kesselring cannot complain on appeal that the trial court erroneously admitted evidence which Kesselring himself introduced. See State v. Hebert, 277 Kan. 61, 78, 82 P.3d 470 (2004) (litigant may not invite trial court into error and then complain of error on appeal). Furthermore, Kesselring did not object to the admission of any of the letters on the grounds that their seizure by Norton violated his constitutional rights; therefore, he is precluded from raising such an argument on appeal. See K.S.A. 60-404; State v. Diggs, 272 Kan. 349, 365, 34 P.3d 63 (2001) (party must make timely and specific objection to admission of evidence at trial in order to preserve issue for appeal). Affirmed. LOCKETT, J., Retired, assigned. [1]