16 results for 'judge:"Kern"'.
J. Kern finds that the lower court properly granted the law firms' motion for summary judgment on their claims for legal fees based on an account stated. An account stated claim is not duplicative of a claim for breach of contract, because the client's act of retaining the invoice without objection is considered acquiescence as to its correctness. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: 02657, Categories: Civil Procedure, Attorney Fees
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer. The charges arose out of an extremely dangerous high-speed chase during which defendant repeatedly fired weapons at pursuing officers. The circuit court sentenced defendant to serve two concurrent life sentences to run consecutively to sentences he was already serving for other offenses. Defendant claimed that his sentence was cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth Amendment and was an abuse of the circuit court’s discretion. The sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the gravity of defendant's offenses and therefore did not violate the Eighth Amendment. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 2024SD26, Categories: Constitution, Sentencing, Assault
J. Kern finds that the circuit court improperly excluded evidence pertaining to sex toys that were used when defendant alleged that he was engaged in a consensual encounter. A woman who has a daughter with defendant alleged that she was raped and the only interaction with the sex toys was when she threw one at defendant after grabbing it away from him during the attack. Defendant was found guilty and appeals, arguing that the
court abused its discretion in excluding evidence of the sex toys and allowing the state to cross examine based on unadmitted text messages. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 2024SD18, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
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J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly denied a daughter's motion for further discovery in an action in which a trust was left from a deceased individual and was invested in a money market account, earning a small amount of interest income. The daughter sued, claiming that a failure to properly invest the trust assets constituted bad faith and gross negligence due to the trust's small investment returns. The lower court properly granted summary judgment in favor of a bank and the son of the deceased. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 2024SD5, Categories: Trusts, Banking / Lending
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered conviction of third-degree rape after a four-day trial. Defendant challenged the validity of a search warrant for location data from his phone. The lower court properly made a determination on the validity of the search warrant. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 2024SD4, Categories: Search, Sex Offender
J. Kern finds that a habeas court improperly granted relief for ineffective assistance of counsel stemming from a jury conviction of first-degree
manslaughter for the death of a sixteen-month-old child. While defense counsel’s opening statement included an "imprecise remark, not attributable to trial strategy," the mistake did not deprive defendant of a fair trial. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern , Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 2023SD65, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Kern finds that the circuit court improperly held that there was insufficient evidence to support a jury’s verdict of undue influence in a matter involving the estate of an individual who, for most of his life, farmed a sizeable estate in Britton, South Dakota. The panel's reversal reinstates the jury's verdict. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 2023SD59, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly sentenced defendant to life in prison without parole. Defendant, while a no-contact order was in place and armed with a handgun, forced his way into the home where his wife was staying with her ninety-year-old grandmother. When the grandmother attmepted to call police, defendant fatally shot her in the face. Defendant argued his sentence violated the Eighth Amendment. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Kern, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 2023SD51, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Restraining Order
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was convicted of first-degree robbery and sentenced to forty years. Defendant attempted to rob a casino by holding a cashier on duty at gunpoint. Defendant pulled her behind the counter and struck her on the head with a pistol, causing her to fall to the floor. Defendant fled after failing to open the cash register. Sufficient evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 2023SD37, Categories: Firearms, Robbery, Assault
J. Kern finds that the circuit court improperly held that a trust was liable for assessments conducted in 2020 and 2021. The circuit court’s award of prejudgment interest was issued on the basis that the trust was liable for the assessments and therefore improperly retained the associated money. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 2023SD31, Categories: Trusts
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was convicted as an accessory to aggravated assault for intentionally harboring or concealing a juvenile in the commission of a felony. Defendant argues that because the juvenile was subject to a delinquency
adjudication, rather than a criminal prosecution, which could have resulted in a felony conviction, she can not be an accessory to a felony. The matter stems from a recorded assault against another juvenile. Defendant was properly convicted in accordance with South Dakota Codified Law. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: 2023SD29, Categories: Juvenile Law, Assault