Kansas SB 60: Prohibiting second and successive motions and ineffective counsel claims in habeas corpus actions and providing for direct appeal to the supreme court in habeas corpus appeals filed by inmates sentenced to death.

Bill Text

Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 60
By Committee on Judiciary
1-22
AN ACT concerning civil procedure; relating to habeas corpus; prohibiting
second and successive motions in certain circumstances; prohibiting
claims of ineffective counsel; providing appeals to the supreme court as
a matter of right in claims filed by inmates sentenced to death;
amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-1507 and 60-2102 and repealing the
existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 60-1507 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 60-1507. (a) Motion attacking sentence. A prisoner in custody
under sentence of a court of general jurisdiction claiming the right to be
released upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the
constitution or laws of the United States, or the constitution or laws of the
state of Kansas, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such
sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by
law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may, pursuant to the time
limitations imposed by subsection (f), move the court which imposed the
sentence to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence.
(b) Hearing and judgment. Unless the motion and the files and
records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no
relief, the court shall cause notice thereof to be served upon the county
attorney, grant a prompt hearing thereon, determine the issues and make
findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect thereto. The court may
entertain and determine such motion without requiring the production of
the prisoner at the hearing. A motion filed by a prisoner who has been
sentenced to death shall be expedited. If the court finds that the judgment
was rendered without jurisdiction, or that the sentence imposed was not
authorized by law or is otherwise open to collateral attack, or that there has
been such a denial or infringement of the constitutional rights of the
prisoner as to render the judgment vulnerable to collateral attack, the court
shall vacate and set the judgment aside and shall discharge the prisoner or
resentence said such prisoner or grant a new trial or correct the sentence as
may appear appropriate.
(c) Second and successive motions. (1) The sentencing court shall not
be required to entertain a second or successive motion for similar relief on
behalf of the same prisoner consider a second or successive motion
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unless:
(A) The claim relies on a new rule of constitutional law that was
made retroactive by the supreme court or the United States supreme court
and applies to the prisoner's case; or
(B) the factual basis for the claim could not have been discovered
previously through the exercise of due diligence, and such facts, if proven
and viewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would be sufficient to
establish by clear and convincing evidence that, but for constitutional
error, no reasonable fact finder would have found the prisoner guilty of
the underlying offense.
(2) A second or successive motion shall not be filed while an appeal
is pending on a motion previously filed pursuant to this section or during
the time within which such an appeal may be perfected.
(3) A motion is a second motion if it raises issues that could have
been raised in a previous motion filed pursuant to this section. A motion is
successive if it raises issues previously raised in a motion filed pursuant to
this section.
(d) Appeal. An appeal may be taken to the appellate court as provided
by law from the order entered on the motion as from a final judgment on
application for a writ of habeas corpus. If an appeal is taken on a motion
filed by a prisoner who has been sentenced to death, such appeal shall be
taken directly to the supreme court.
(e) Exclusiveness of remedy. An application for a writ of habeas
corpus in on behalf of a prisoner who is authorized to apply for relief by
motion pursuant to this section, shall not be entertained if it appears that
the applicant has failed to apply for relief, by motion, to the court which
sentenced said such applicant, or that such court has denied said such
applicant relief, unless it also appears that the remedy by motion is
inadequate or ineffective to test the legality of said such applicant's
detention.
(f) Time limitations. (1) Any action under this section must be
brought within one year of:
(A) The final order of the last appellate court in this state to exercise
jurisdiction on a direct appeal or the termination of such appellate
jurisdiction;
(B) the denial of a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States
supreme court or issuance of such court's final order following granting
such petition; or
(C) when claiming error in a previous action filed pursuant to this
section, the decision of the district court denying a prior motion under this
section,