Maughan & Maughan Law

Juveniles have right to evidentiary probable cause hearing

2011-06-10T12:08:00.003-05:00

In a published decision of the Kansas Court of Appeals released on June 10, 2011 Maughan & Maughan LC Lawyer, Kate Zigtema, succeeded in getting the Kansas Court of Appeals to approve the practice of allowing juveniles accused of criminal conduct to present evidence at a hearing to determne whether probable cause exists to support the charges.

In the case captioned In Re: H.N. (http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-Opinions/opinions/CtApp/2011/20110610/105017.pdf ) the Court affirmed the District Court's ruling denying the juvenile a preliminary hearing similar to those required by the adult criminal code. However, the court went on to hold that the procedure of reviewing the probable cause affidavit and giving the juvenile the opportunity to present evidence at a hearing to determine probable cause meets the requirements of providing a "...fair and reliable determination of probable cause." (Quoting from the United States Supreme Court case Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S. Ct. 854 (1975)).

The decision further bolsters the rights of Juveniles in Kansas in the wake of the Kansas Supreme Court case In Re: L.M. 286 Kan. 460, 186 P. 3d 164 (2008) in which the court recognized that juveniles have a constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Right to a public trial

2011-05-13T11:58:00.002-05:00

Will Scott Roeder get a new trial for the killing of abortion doctor George Tiller?

On April 8, 2011 the Kansas Court of Appeals issued it's decision in State v Barnes (slip opinion 102290) reversing the aggravated robbery conviction of Dywand Barnes after the trial court had closed the court room during the defendant's jury trial, thereby violating the defendant's constitutional right to a public trial as guaranteed by the 6th amendment to the United States Constitution. In doing so, the court noted that the right to a public trial is a fundamental constitutional right (State v. Barnes, slip opinion 102290 p. 7) and that the violation of the right to a public trial is never harmless (State v. Barnes p. 10)

While this Kansas Court of Appeals opinion is interesting, it may not have much practical impact. After all, most trials are conducted in an open court room and it is a rare event in which the court room is closed to the public. As a general rule the only cases which may be affected by this ruling are the high profile cases or cases in smaller jurisdictions where it is logistically impossible to accommodate the public due to the size of the available facilities.

However, of local, and perhaps national, interest is the implications this ruling may have on the ultimate outcome of the trial of Scott Roeder for the killing of long time abortionist, doctor George Tiller. During Mr. Roeder's trial, the trial court closed portions of the jury selection process to the public. As blogged about here previously (see: http://mandmlaw.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-supreme-court-rules-that-right-to.html), the decision to close the jury selection portion of Roeder's trial came a mere week before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Presley v. Georgia ___ U.S. ____, (2010) (Slip Opinion 09-5270) that the Sixth Amendment right to a public extends to the jury selection process. In Mr. Roeder's case, the closure of the court room was limited and both the Barnes and Presley cases recognize that the right to a public trial is not without limitations, However, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Presley and the Kansas Court of Appeals' decision in Barnes raises the question of whether Mr. Roeder's conviction might be reversed and a new trial be ordered.

Mr. Roeder has appealed his conviction to Kansas Supreme Court and his appeal is currently pending. However, whether the issue of defendant's right to a public trial will be raised remains to be seen as the brief on behalf of Mr. Roeder has not yet been filed. According to court records Mr. Roeder's brief is due on May 20, 2011.

Veterans day.

2010-11-20T19:17:00.004-06:00

Attorney Carl Maughan of the Maughan and Maughan LC law frim recently addressed the American Legion chapter in Peabody Kansas at their Veterans day celebration. Here is the text of the speech:

Thank you.

My name is Carl Maughan, I am attorney in Wichita who was lucky enough to marry a Peabody native, Faith Johnson. She has blessed me every day since I met her and, through her, this community has blessed me too.

Faith is a veteran and currently serving in the Army reserve. I am very proud of her. Her service is a constant reminder of the sacrifice of our servicemen and woman - and their families.

First, let me thank all of you who have served in our armed forces, and all those who waited at home while a beloved husband or wife, father or mother, Son or daughter, left their lives to answer the call to duty. Through your sacrifice and the sacrifice of those veterans who came before you, the threat to our country from foreign enemies has been kept a bay. Your efforts have allowed us the privilege of exercising our freedoms at home, and the luxury of feeling that those liberties will never be threatened.

The irony is that under your protection, Americans have become complacent and have come to see freedom as an entitlement. We have forgotten that the constitution may face enemies, both foreign, and domestic and, consequently, we have failed to protect the Constitution from the threat it faces from apathy, and from the avarice of those who would seek to expand government beyond its constitutional bounds in order to provide comfort and security at the expense of freedom and individual responsibility.

This notion that the government has escaped its constitutional limitations is not a political notion. It is a common refrain from all sectors of the political spectrum. I hear it echoed from liberals who fear that domestic spying justified by the war on terror has weakened the fourth amendment. I hear it from conservatives who question the constitutional basis for a law which uses the power of government to force us to buy a product like health insurance. And, I hear it from my libertarian friends who are concerned that the prohibition on drugs undermines our sovereignty over our own bodies and is used to justify ever increasing intrusions into our privacy.

On a daily basis, the legislature interferes with the authority of the executive, the courts impede the power of the legislature, the Federal government intrudes in the province of the states and all branches of government, both state and federal, encroach on the rights of the individual. Government’s continual straining at the constitutional leash is not merely a political problem. It threatens the very existence of the United States of America as we know it.

Traditionally nationhood is defined by the limits of language, borders, culture and ethnicity. But America is defined by something more. It is defined by an embrace of the principles of the constitution, an embrace of liberty, and of the corresponding responsibility. America is defined by an embrace of the notion that the people, and the law, are sovereign and that the government is limited and subservient.

For generations, people have come from all parts of the world, from every culture and every nation to become Americans. They have been driven by a longing for the opportunity to be left alone to exercise their God given right to life and liberty and to pursue happiness in their own way. And they have embraced the ideal of ordered liberty set forth in our founding documents. In so doing, they have become American. The Constitution and the ideals it contains have acted as a glue, binding us together as one nation. Binding us together as Americans. Without this cohesive understanding of who we are as a people, without this common thread of respect for liberty and limited government , what is there that we here in Peabody have in common with Americans living in New York City, in Los Angeles, in the deep south, in Miami Florida, or with the 20 year old college student in Seattle? This nation is so vast. It is made up of so many disparate cultures, belief systems and races. There is little in common between our lives, and those of millions of Americans throughout the country. Without a common belief system to bind us together, from where do we get a sense of common national identity and purpose. If we lose this glue, we lose our nation.

Think for a minute about the numerical differences between those living in New York and those living in the heartland of Kansas and think about how different our values, concerns and interests may be from someone who lives in New York City or Los Angeles. If government is not limited by the constitution, if it becomes merely an engine of majority rule or a means to cater to those with the most numbers, the most money or those who mostly loudly vocalize their demands, then those of us who quietly go about our lives in Peabody, or Newton, in Wichita or Hutchinson, will be dominated by the political interests and demands of those whose lives in large population centers with interests and values that may be very different from our own.
After the revolutionary war was over, George Washington had returned home to Mount Vernon, contented to return to the life of a Gentleman farmer. But the nation called one more time. When they approached him and asked him to serve as our first president. He wearily asked: “Have I not given enough for my country?”
Ladies and gentlemen, you who have served, and you who have supported those who serve, have every right to return to your private lives with the thanks of a grateful nation. But your country needs you. We need you because it is you, the veterans and the families of veterans that best know the meaning of honor, duty and country. And while you may ask “have we not given enough for our country? The answer, just as it was for George Washington, is: No.

There is one more mission, one more call to arms, and one more time to step into the breach. That mission is not a small task. It is not something to be left to others. It is something that each and every one of us must embrace. It is the restoration of the Republic and reinvigoration of the constitution.
This is a call to educate yourselves on the history of our country, and of the meaning of the constitution. Arm yourselves with a deep understanding of the constitutional framework in which our republic rests, and arm your fellow citizens by passing that information along.

Engage in conversation and debate about the role of government in a constitutional republic and the role of government in the lives of a free people. Insist that your government live within the constitutional framework that was built for it. Do battle with those who would have that framework ignored or circumvented. This is a call to action, a call to join with others who love liberty, to band together and to jointly, and individually, commit ourselves to the restoration of the Republic.
The Constitution is not merely a symbol, or a rallying point, it is not a substitute for the flag. It is the blue print for how to ensure that the republic, to which we pledge allegiance today, is the same nation for which our fathers and grandfathers fought and died.

November 11 is veterans day here in the United States. It is a day when we remember and honor those who have served in the armed forces. In many other places around the world it is remembered as Armistice day, the anniversary of the signing of the treaty which ended world war 1. For me, November 11 has an added significance. I grew up in Southern Africa, in a country now known as Zimbabwe, but formally known as Rhodesia. It had been a self governing British colony, but when the British tried to impose their will on the people of Rhodesia, we, like America, declared ourselves independent from Britain. We did this on November 11, 1965. So, for me, Veterans day is closely tied with thoughts of independence and freedom. This is altogether fitting as freedom cannot be enjoyed at home if there is a threat from a foreign power. In the United States the role of our armed services has been to repel foreign threats so that we can exercise freedom here at home. Similarly, individual freedom cannot be properly enjoyed or exercised if, in the halls of government, the constitution is not respected. So, on this Veterans day remembrance, let us renew our declaration of our individual independence and commit ourselves to fight the erosion of our constitution.

The stated purpose of the constitution is to secure the blessings of liberty: for us, and for those who come after us. But it is not a magic document. It does not, by its very existence, secure the blessings of liberty for anyone. It is merely a framework for doing so. In order to actually secure the blessings of liberty we need people to preserve the framework and to insist that government act only within that framework.

President Reagan said it best when he said “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Each generation must work to preserve the constitutional framework and pass it on to the next generation - intact, so that they too can enjoy the blessings of liberty and secure them for the next generation and pass along the framework to their children and their children’s children. This is the legacy of Veterans day.
The Armictice which ended world war one, preserved peace for one generation but the next generation could not hold on to it and the world was once again plunged into war. And, in the country of my birth, the generation who declared independence from Great Britain and fought the war that followed preserved freedom and prosperity for one more generation. But, for a number of reasons, the next generation could not hold on to what they had been given. Freedom and prosperity has now been lost in that country for generations to come, if not for ever.

Here in the United States, each generation of American veterans has preserved the republic from foreign threat and allowed the next generation to continue to live within the framework of the constitution, free from external pressure.
However, if we do not heed this call to arms, if we do not step into the breach one more time, if we do not tend to the constitutional framework here at home, we place at risk all the hard work of the veterans who have come before us. For, the constitution face enemies both foreign, and domestic. The task of defending our freedoms from domestic threats falls to us.

Just as our veterans stand as a protective wall from foreign enemies, we must stand as a protective wall against the threats to freedom. Threats that come from apathy, from a lack of education about the constitution, and from the desire of the political class to step outside the constitutional framework to buy power by giving benefits to people who are more interested in comfort and security than liberty and the responsibility it implies.

Ladies and gentlemen, if we do not answer the call, if we do not educate ourselves, our children, and our fellow countrymen about the importance of the Constitution, If we simply give up our right to self governance and abdicate to the government our responsibility to chose for ourselves what type of car we drive, what we eat, how warm we keep our house, how much of our money we get to keep, or how, and where, we chose to pray, if we allow the Federal government to render our state government impotent by deciding what laws the States can pass and how those laws might be enforced, If we bow to government’s constant tendency to step outside the constitutional framework, then the blessings of liberty, and the peace and prosperity it provides, can be lost even here in America.

Despite the sacrifices of veterans from Valley forge, to Gettysburg, from nomandy to Korea and from vietnam to Iraq and Afgahnistan, if we do not restore the republic and reinvigorate the constitution, then government of the people, by the people, for the people may indeed perish from the earth.

The task before us will be challenging. Government will always strain at the leash. And For generations we have loosened the chains on government, ignored the constitutional framework and become accustomed to the government doing things that were not intended by the constitution. But we are broke. Both literally and figuratively, we can no longer afford to have the government continue to act outside of the constitution.

I have told you that my boyhood home country of Rhodesia declared independence from Great Britain on November 11. The national anthem that was adopted for that country included a prayer to God to “give us strength to face all danger and, where challenge is,…. to dare.” It is in the spirit of this song and the spirit of independence, that I ask you to dare to accept the challenge of restoring the Republic and reinvigorating the constitution.

There will be those who say we cannot do it, that the domestic enemies of the constitution, (apathy, ignorance and avarice) have grown too strong. But, just as the founders declared independence with a firm reliance on divine providence and established this great country against all odds, I believe that, with the help of our veterans and God, we will be able to restore the republic, and the constitution.

Thank you.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney represents Wichita Bar Association at Naturalization ceremony.

2010-03-20T10:35:00.002-05:00

On March 19, 2009, Carl Maughan, an attorney with Maughan and Maughan LC delivered the key note address as a representative of the Wichita Bar Association at a ceremony in which 122 people became Naturalized citizens of the United States of America.

Here is the text of the address:

Ladies and Gentlemen. My fellow Americans. My name is Carl Maughan. I am a lawyer With the law firm of Maughan and Maughan, I am here today on behalf of the Wichita Bar Association and the members of the legal profession to recognize and honor your choice to accept the mantle and responsibilities of citizenship of the United States of America and, to thank you for your commitment to this country and the ideals it represents.

Traditionally the hallmark of nationhood lies in language, culture, borders and ethnicity. Those hallmarks of nationhood are important to America for they tie us together under a common language, a common land and a common culture. As a citizen you are duty bound to preserve the language, borders and culture of the United States for, if we lose those ties we cease to be a nation.

However, in America there is something more. Something else that defines us as a country and as a people. That something more is our constitution and the ideals it contains. We are American by virtue of our acceptance of a philosophy and an ideology of limited government and ordered liberty. Citizenship is the embrace of freedom as expressed in the American constitution. It binds us together and, if it is preserved and nurtured, it paves the way to prosperity for us, for our country and for our children.

In other countries the nation is sovereign. Here, you, the people, are sovereign and, just as a nation will cease to be a sovereign nation if it accepts the dictates of outside powers, we, the people of the United States, will lose our liberty if we give up responsibility for our own lives. If we, the People of the United States of America, lose our freedom, and our sovereignty. The United States of America will cease to be the nation that was created by our constitution. But if we, as citizens, work to preserve the constitution and have the bravery to insist upon freedom then America will continue to be a shining beacon to the world. A tribute to what a free people can achieve.

Congratulations. You are now Americans. And so, In the spirit of Patrick Henry who, during the debate for the ratification of the constitution, proclaimed, “I am no longer a Virginian, Sir, but an American,” I declare that you are no longer Mexicans nor Koreans nor Canadians. You are not French- Americans nor African-Americans nor Vietnamese Americans. You are Americans - and you now carry with you the legacy of all those who have gone before, you, who have lived and fought, struggled and died to create a nation and a political system which President Ronald Reagan so aptly described as a shining city on a hill. You now carry the duty and responsibility as an American to live and fight, to struggle and perhaps die to preserve this nation, its constitution, its ideals and its philosophy for future generations of Americans.

The very idea, that we hold this nation, this republic, this bastion of freedom, in trust for ourselves and those who come after us is recognized in the pre amble to the constitution as one of the fundamental reasons for the establishment of the American constitution. It states that the constitution was established to – “secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” By choosing to become an American Citizen you have committed to preserve the Constitution of the United States of America and the blessings of liberty it secures for your children and their grandchildren.

It is not a small choice you have made, this choice to become a citizen of the United States. By taking the oath you have just taken, you have committed to do nothing short of keeping the city shining, of making it brighter, of preserving it as a beacon to guide us on to the fulfillment of our destiny.

You will notice that I have referred to your choice to become a citizen of the United States. I have done so because I wish to acknowledge and honor the freedom you have exercised by making this choice. No one forced you to become a citizen. No government agency required you to become a citizen, you chose to become a citizen and, in so doing you chose more than a mere change of nationality, you chose to be free. By making this decision you have distinguished yourself from those who live among us who have abandoned, or never adopted, the mantle of citizenship, and who would prefer instead to seek the benefits of living in a free society without shouldering the responsibilities and duties of citizenship.

Citizenship in its true sense, not merely its legal sense, is a choice. It is a choice not only for those who discard the nationality of their birth and raise their hand in a crowded theatre to take an oath of loyalty to the United States, but a choice for all of us. It is a choice that we make on a daily basis. Whenever we choose to exercise our God given constitutional rights, we choose to be a citizen. Whenever we stand up and defend the rights of our fellow citizens, we choose to be a citizen. Whenever we stand up for the Constitution of the United States and insist that others do the same we choose to be a citizen.

Ladies and Gentlemen, just as the pilgrims endured a long and arduous journey in the Mayflower to land on Plymouth Rock, You too have endured a long and arduous journey toward American citizenship. Your long journey is now over. You have made it. One chapter of your lives now draws to a close and a new chapter begins. And so, it is right that you should pause, to take time to relish your fortune, to thank God and to celebrate. But you must also take time to gather your strength, for America needs your strength. Just as the Pilgrims’ arrival in America signaled the start of the difficult task of building a nation, today you have pledged to take on a new burden, to heft a new pack upon our shoulders, to roll up your sleeves and to exercise all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.

During the time that the constitution was being drafted, there was great speculation and concern about what type of political system the delegates would create. At the close of the convention, as the delegates were leaving the hall, an old lady is reported to have approached Benjamin Franklin and asked: “What hast thou wrought?” Meaning, what have you made? What form of government have you created? Mr. Franklin apparently looked at her and responded: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

That response encapsulates the duties of a citizen. To keep the republic. To uphold the constitution which created the republic. To foster it and nurture it, to maintain this fragile political system that is our national treasure. That is now your responsibility.

The limited republican form of government created by our constitution requires the active participation of the citizens. If we do not choose to be citizens we cannot sustain this republic for long. By choosing to become a citizen you have chosen to accept the challenge of keeping the republic and preserving liberty for ourselves, and for those who come after us.

The constitution lays out in explicit detail, your rights as an American and recognizes that there are others that are not enumerated. What the constitution does not tell you is what you must do to keep the Republic. But all rights come with responsibilities. Discharging these responsibilities is the key to keeping the republic. The nation cannot survive if citizens merely insist upon the plentiful rights and benefits of living in a free country while ignoring the responsibilities that come with those rights.

By taking the oath today and by choosing to be a citizen everyday, you, like the founders before you, have pledged your lives, your fortunes and your sacred honor to the task of preserving, restoring and keeping the promise of liberty for you and future generations.

--

It has been said that:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It will only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury. As a result the democracy slides into bankruptcy and eventually falls apart.

It has also been said that the life cycle of a democratic political system is as follows:

From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence, back into bondage."

I will leave it to you to decide where in this life cycle we might be in this republic. But the point is that without constant effort and constant vigilance, there is a natural tendency towards the loss of freedom and an increase in governmental power over the people. If you chose to be a citizen of a free country it is up to you to push back against government intrusion into your life and to robustly defend your liberty so that you might taste the abundance that flows from freedom.

The duties of citizenship are not just simple tasks, such as voting, or serving on a jury duty. The true duty of citizenship is eternal vigilance against threats to our nation. Vigilance against obvious, overt threats such as terrorism. Vigilance against the insidious, creeping threats of complacency and apathy. Vigilance against the greed of voters who seek only benefits from the public treasury, and against the self serving scheming of those government officials who would give it to them. and Vigilance against the erosion of our liberty in the name of security.

The duty of citizenship is the duty to educate yourself about what your elected officials are doing, it is the duty to speak out and act when the government fails to adhere to the true principals of the constitution. It is the duty to accept responsibility for yourself so that the government and your fellow citizens are not required to do so. It is the duty to insist that others do the same. And it is the duty to defend against the erosion of your rights and those of your fellow citizens.

As an American you have a right to speak your mind and a duty to become informed and to speak up against all those who would squelch the voice of another.

You have a right to bear arms and a duty to defend against those who would disarm you.

You have a right to praise the god of your choice, and a duty to ensure that your faith is not forced from the public square against your will.

You have a right to vote and a duty to be informed of the actions of those for whom you vote and to terminate their employment when they no longer serve the principals of the constitution.

You have a right to petition the government for grievances and a duty to know that the government is limited. It cannot solve all your problems, nor should it. As President Ford once said. "A government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from us everything we have."

You have a right to own property free from unreasonable government interference and a duty to defend your property and that of others from any such interference.

You have a right, and duty, to exercise every right bestowed upon you by God, and a duty to defend the rights of the person next to you to do the same.

You have a right to say “ I am a citizen of the United States” and a duty to ensure that this status is not diminished by those who would seek the rights, benefits, and privileges that this country offers without accepting the corresponding duties.

By taking the oath of citizenship, you have risen to your responsibilities and faced up to your duties. For that I would like to thank you on behalf of a legal profession which works on a daily basis to preserve the delicate balance between rights and obligations. And, I would like to thank you as a fellow citizen who is deeply concerned about our ability to keep the republic. And, I would like to thank you as a father who’s children must grow up in the country we leave for them.

President Reagan once told a story about an immigrant who had escaped from totalitarianism to the U.S. While telling the story of his escape an American who was listening turned to his friend and remarked “we do not know how lucky we are” The immigrant paused and then said. “How lucky you are? I had somewhere to escape to.”

If we fail in our duty to preserve liberty in this country where will our children escape to? If liberty should ever fall in the U.S, if we allow it to be overwhelmed by our demands for benefits from the public treasury or to be squashed by our desire for security or to slowly wither because of our apathy and lethargy, then where shall our children find freedom? It is for them, for the next generation that we undertake our duties as citizens. So they may continue to live in that shining city on a hill.

It is in recognition of our responsibility to secure the benefits of liberty, not just for our selves, but for those that come after us that I would like to leave you with this poem by Will Allen Dromgoole.

It is called the Bridge Builder:

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and Grey,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him.
But he turned when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“old man” said a fellow pilgrim near,
you are wasting strength with building here
your journey will end with the ending day;
you never again must pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide.
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?

The builder lifted his old gray head;
Good friend, in the path I have come, -- he said,
There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm which has been naught to me
May to that fair haired youth a pitfall be
He too must cross in the twilight dim
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.

Those who came before us built a bridge to freedom for us. By taking the oath of citizenship you have committed to building a bridge to freedom for those who come after you.

If those of us who are citizens - who choose to be citizens – not just today but every day – if we embrace the constitution, - if we strive to live up to the ideals that formed this country - those ideals which bind us together as Americans, surely the city will shine for generations to come. Thank you.

U.S Supreme Court rules that right to public trial extends to jury selection.

2010-03-15T21:36:00.006-05:00

In reviewing recent Supreme Court decision, it was noticed that On January 19, 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Presley v. Georgia that the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial extends to the Jury Selection process. See: Http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/09-5270.pdf

The Court's decision in and of itself was interesting to those of us who defend citizens who are accused of crimes. However, it was particularly interesting to note the date of the decision as it was issued approximately one week after the Sedgwick County District Court had excluded the public from part of the jury selection in the trial of Scott Roeder who was later convicted of killing late term abortionist George Tiller.

While the Supreme Court did leave some leeway for the limitation of the right to a public trial during voire dire under certain circumstances the court specifically found that such circumstances would be rare and noted the need for care in balancing the interest in closing the proceedings against the right to a public trial.

The High Court's decision suggests a potential appeal issue for Mr. Roeder and the possibility of a new trial if it is determined that the trial court failed to properly balance the right to a public trial against those interests which motivated the closure of the proceedings.

The Court's ruling is also of particular interest to those who proceed to trial in smaller jurisdictions where the size of the court rooms may routinely result in the exclusion of the public during the jury selection process.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney launches new blog.

2010-03-13T00:03:00.008-06:00

Carl Maughan, an attorney with Maughan and Maughan LC has launched "The First Amendment Gym" a blog dedicated to the exercise of his freedom of expression, speech and thought. You can follow The First Amendment Gym at: http://firstamendmentgym.blogspot.com.

The link is to the right of this page.

Maughan and Maughan LC opens Kansas City area office.

2010-02-25T21:39:00.008-06:00

The lawyers of Maughan and Maughan LC are pleased to announce the opening of our new office in the Kansas City area.

The launch of our new office will better position our attorneys to serve our clients throughout Kansas and Missouri.

Previously all the attorneys of Maughan and Maughan operated full time out of the Wichita office. This required lengthy periods of travel when appearing before the Kansas appellate courts in Topeka, Kansas, or the federal and state courts located east of Wichita. With the opening of the Kansas City office, our attorneys will have a home base from which to operate when representing our clients in these courts and those in Missouri.

The new office will be staffed and managed primarily by Kate Zigtema, an associate attorney with Maughan and Maughan LC who is licensed to practice in both Kansas and Missouri.

Kate's experience and skill in the practice of criminal law and her roots in the Kansas City area means that she is perfectly poised to defend the rights and protect the interests of our clients in the Kansas City area, Topeka, Lawrence, Eastern Kansas and Missouri.

With the opening of our new office in Kansas City the lawyers of Maughan and Maughan LC look forward to our greater ability to represent our clients throughout Kansas and Missouri.

You can contact Maughan and Maughan LC at our new Kansas City area office by telephone at ph: (913) 647-7567, by fax at: (913) 227-4415, or visit our office at 8700 Monrovia, Suite 310, Lenexa, KS 66215. You can alsoe reach us on the web at MaughanandMaughan.com or MyMMlawyer.com.

Maughan and Maughan Law firm feedback

2009-12-28T00:43:00.005-06:00

I was touched recently by a telephone call from a citizen. I did not actually talk to her and I do not know her name. Whoever she is, I would like to thank her for the call.

I was traveling to McPherson County, Kansas. [A client for whom I am reviewing certain criminal convicitions in order to determine whether an appeal (or other post coviction remedy) might be appropriate is incarcerated at the McPherson County Jail.] While driving, my assistant called and told me that a lady had called the office and wanted to to thank us for our radio commercials on KFDI and their sister a.m. station, The Ranch.

Apparenty our message recognizing our God given rights and the importance they play in our lives, the existence and prosperity of the United States of America, and the rule of law had struck a cord with this lady and she wished to thank us.

Obviously, potentially increased business is an important part of any advertising campaign. However, there are more important things than increased business. At the law firm of Maughan and Maughan LC, we are committed to fight for the Constitution, the rule of law and the rights and interests of Americans enshrined therein regardless of whether or not those Americans and Kansas are clients of the firm.

If we can encourage our fellow citizens to cherish their freedom and fight for those God given rights, we have achieved one of our Goals. A call from a citizen who wished to let us know that our efforts were appreciated is encouraging and truly touching. It truly made my day, if not my month. I would like to thank the lady who called us for letting me know that our small voice counts.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

Happy Bill of Rights Day.

2009-12-15T23:03:00.005-06:00

December 15 is Bill of Rights Day. A day to honor the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Those who opposed the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States objected on the grounds that the inclusion of any such enumeration of rights was unnecessary. However, in light of the constant diminution of personal liberty in the face of an ever growing government, one must wonder where we might be had these rights not been specifically enumerated in the Constitution.

The best way to honor the Bill of Rights is to resolve to exercise those rights in the new year.

This is your Bill of Rights. http://billofrights.org/

Maughan and Maughan LC is a law firm. We provide services in a variety of legal disciplines including the practice of criminal defense law. The rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are important to our work. More importantly, however, they are essential to personal liberty. Without respect for these rights tyranny will follow. If we do not respect these rights enough to exercise them and to insist that they are kept inviolate we will slowly lose them. Without them we would not even have the freedom to decry their loss.

Happy Bill of Rights Day. Give thanks that we live in a country where these God given freedoms are enshrined in the Constitution and celebrate by exercising your rights, lest they be lost.

Maughan and Maughan continues to raise public profile.

2009-12-12T13:29:00.006-06:00

In an effort to raise the public awareness in Wichita, and throughout Kansas, of the services and philosophy of the Law firm of Maughan and Maughan LC, we are continuing to publish radio commercials in the local market.

Here is the text of the recently released radio comercials.

Christmas I.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the grace of a God who sent his son for our redemption and gave to us certain unalienable rights.

At Maughan and Maughan we are dedicated to using the law to protect your rights and defend your interests. Life, Liberty, Property and the pursuit of happiness. When these gifts from god are threatened, the lawyers of Maughan and Maughan are there to help.

I’m Carl Maughan and, along with my wife Faith Maughan, and all of us at Maughan and Maughan, we wish you a Merry Christmas.

You can reach the law firm of Maughan and Maughan at 316 264 2023 or, on the web at my m m lawyer.com. That’s 316 264-2023 or my m m lawyer.com for all your legal needs.

Christmas II.

The holidays are a time to enjoy a good meal and,perhaps a beer or glass of wine with friends and family. However, the lawyers and staff at the law firm of Maughan and Maughan would like to remind you that drinking and driving can endanger your life, and the lives of others. So, enjoy your Christmas, but please, do not drive if you are under the influence of alcohol.

The holidays are also a time of increased enforcement of DUI laws. If you are accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and need some help, the lawyers of Maughan and Maughan can ensure that your rights are protected and help you try to avoid a wrongfully convicted.

You can reach the law firm of Maughan and Maughan at 316 264 2023 or on the web at my m m lawyer.com. that’s 316 264-2023 or my mm lawyer.com for all your legal needs.

Christmas III.

At Christmas we think of friends and family. We think of gifts and charity and, perhaps after the celebration is over, we think of how we might provide for them in the future.

At the law firm of Maughan and Maughan we can help you provide for the future through estate planning and the writing of a will to protect your assets. If you need help planning for the future please call attorney Faith Maughan at the law firm of Maughan and Maughan.

I’m Carl Maughan. and, along with my wife, Faith, and all of us at Maughan and Maughan, we would like to wish you a Merry Christmas.

You can reach the law firm of Maughan and Maughan at 316 264 2023 or on the web at my m m lawyer.com. that’s 316 264-2023 or ,my m m lawyer.com, for all your legal needs.

Maughan and Maughan Partner with KFDI radio FM 101.3 (SE Kansas)

2009-09-26T09:21:00.003-05:00

Maughan & Maughan LC is pleased to announce that we have partnered with KFDI Radio (FM 101.3) and their AM affiliate, The Ranch, (AM Radio 1070). Maughan and Maughan will sponsor KFDI's drive time traffic and weather coverage. KFDI's weather coverage also brings its listener's up to the minute severe weather coverage.

Law Day 2009.

2009-05-02T00:29:00.003-05:00

May 1st is also known as Law Day in the United States. Law Day was established in 1958 by President Eisenhower as a day on which the rule of law can be honored. Law day was established in part to provide an alternative to the communist inspired May Day or International Worker's Day.

In 2009 as our government moves toward greater involvement in private industry, and arguably closer to socialism, the question of whether May 1st in the United States is a day in which we celebrate our constitutional preference for less government power and the rule of law which keeps government at bay, or whether it is a day to celebrate International Workers' Day is a question to be pondered.

On May 1 at Maughan & Maughan LC, we celebrate the rule of law and the role it plays in our society. We celebrate our constitution and the restraints on governmental intrusion into the lives of the individual that our constitution imposes.

My recent involvement in a Federal RICO (racketeering) trial brought me face to face with the power of government and the importance of the rule of law.

In honor of the rule of law and those who are involved in its maintenance in the United States, I have posted below a redacted excerpt from my closing argument in the defense of members of the Crips gang in Wichita, Kansas as they faced prosecution for alleged violation of the Federal Racketeering laws (RICO).

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to pause here for a bit. To ignore the case for just a little bit and thank you for your service. I know that this has been a massive undertaking for you and that it has interrupted your life, taken you away from your families, and your careers. At times I am sure it has been tedious and difficult. So thank you.

Thank you not just on behalf of Mr. [ client] and I, but on behalf of the country and everyone in the court room. The role of jurors giving up their time to serve is crucial to our political and legal system.

Our country has been described as a country of laws and not of men. As such, our nation, in a very real sense, rests upon our legal system. That system could not function without jurors. The right to trial by jury is a constitutional imperative and you, by coming here and doing your duty, make that constitutional imperative possible. By so doing – you make the constitution work.

This pen that you have seen me using through this trial was given to me by my father on the day that I became an American citizen. On that day I heard a story. It was a story about an immigrant who had braved the brutality of some totalitarian country and finally escaped. – After many hardships he had finally made his way to the United States. He had struggled through the immigration system and become a citizen. When interviewing the new citizen about his escape from tyranny, a reporter had commented on how lucky we are to live in this country. The new citizen stopped him and said – No, it was I that was lucky. I had somewhere to escape to.

I use this pen in trial to remind me of how important it is that we do our part to make sure that the law works. To make sure that the constitution is upheld and that it continues to thrive. I use this pen in trial to remind myself that this is it. If we do not preserve this republic and our liberties here in the United States, we will not have anywhere to escape to.

It seems to me that it is more important now than ever. It seems to me that there is a general sense in the country that we are losing our way as a nation; That the country that we leave to our children will not resemble to land of the free that our forefathers fashioned through the constitution; That our constitutional republic is eroding. ---

This is not a political position. I hear this sentiment echoed in all segments of the society. I hear the sentiment from the liberals when they complain about the war in Iraq or claims of water boarding of prisoners. I hear it from my libertarian friends when they talk about the constant erosion of our privacy by government, I hear it from my conservative friends when they discuss government plans to nationalize segments of private enterprise and to re-distribute the wealth, and I hear it from my non ideological friends who complain about the lack of responsiveness of the government to the desires of the people. Always, I hear the expression of frustration over our inability to do anything about it.

Ladies and gentlemen there is something we can do about it and you are doing it right now. It is individual Americans doing their duties and exercising their rights that will provide the bulwark against the erosion of our constitutional system.

It is not always easy to do our part,to exercise our rights, and to take on our share of the burden. Your service as a juror in this case shows that sometimes doing our part is difficult. But I am convinced that it is only by individual Americans putting in the hard work when called upon to do our duty, and taking the difficult stand of asserting our rights, that we can reverse the general sense that the country is moving away from our constitutional principals. So again. And sincerely – thank you.

The task before you is going to be even harder than the task of sitting here and listening to the evidence. This case is complicated. The charges are not simple. You have almost 90 pages of instructions to guide you. Despite the best efforts of the judge, and the lawyers some of these instructions remain complicated and convoluted. I do not envy you in your task. It took me months before I felt I really had a grasp on the complexity of this case. Hopefully, the instructions will help you in your task because it is important not only on an individual level but on a national level. It is important to Mr. [Client ] and the concept of Justice. Because, in a complex case like this Mr. [ Client ] can only get a fair trial, and justice can only be served if you put in the time and effort to sort through the 90 pages of instructions and, before giving a verdict, makes sure that you know whether the government has met its burden of proof.

Another constitutional imperative is the presumption of innocence and the requirement that a man maintains that presumption of innocence until the government has proven all of their claims and accusations beyond all reasonable doubt. The protection of this constitutional imperative now fall on your shoulders. You are now the sole guardians of whether, in this case, the constitutional works. Whether the government is made to prove their accusations beyond all reasonable doubt before taking a man’s liberty or whether they are allowed to slide on a lesser degree of proof.

...

Your role here is greater than this case. All of those who scream in anguish that we seem to be departing from our constitutional founding and cry out in frustration that there seems to be nothing we can do about it, deserve to have your jury service as an example that there is something we can do about it. We, as individuals, as Americans, can exercise our rights and undertake our duties even when it is difficult. Especially when it is difficult."

-----

The above portion of my closing reflects my faith in the individual and the power of those who do their part to uphold the rule of law. The Rule of Law in the United States (as represented in our constitution), and therefore our Republic and way of life, depends upon the willingness of each individual person exercising his rights and executing his duties under the Constitution.

If we fail to exercise our rights, to fulfill our constitutional duties, and to insist that the citizen next to us be allowed to exercise his rights; our constitution, and therefore the Rule of Law as exercised in the United States, will fall to the tyranny of the those who would have us bend to the rule of the masses rather than to express our rights under the rule of law.

Happy Law Day. Exercise your rights under the Constitution. Do not give in to the soft tyranny of expedience. Fulfill your duty to protect the rights of your fellow citizen. In doing so, you will be doing your part to uphold the rule of law and, with it, the American Constitution.

More RICO trial coverage.

2009-03-10T15:37:00.002-05:00

The media continues to cover the Federal Racketeering trial that it in progress in the Federal District Court for the Wester District of Kansas. Maughan and Maughan LC lawyer, Carl Maughan represents a client accused of racketeering as a member of an alleged Wichita street gang known as the Crips. Below is a link to a local news article regarding yesterday's tesimony. The article is not exactly representative of the evidence. For example, it fails to mention that the black cap found in the vicinity of the bank not only contained DNA from the firm's client but also that of two other unknown people. The article also fails to mention that at least one of the witnesses testified that the perpetrator wore a blue cap. Nevertheless, it gives one a sense of the proceedings.

http://www.kansas.com/news/crime-courts/story/727586.html

Racketeering trial in the news.

2009-03-09T06:24:00.003-05:00

Carl Maughan of Maughan & Maughan LC is currently representing a client charged with racketeering in federal court. Here is a link to a news article regarding the trial.
http://www.kansas.com/news/crime-courts/story/723281.html

Maughan & Maughan LC in the news.

2009-01-06T20:12:00.002-06:00

Here is the text of an article which ran in the Wichita Eagle on Sunday January 4, 2008 reagrding a client of Maughan & Maughan LC who was convicted of murderin 1977 and will now return to court to try to clear his name after serving his entire sentence.

The article can be found at http://www.kansas.com/news/crime-courts/story/650966.html

The text is provided below:

Modern DNA test sought in 1977 case
A man who served 22 years in prison for murder has requested a hearing in an attempt to prove his innocence.

BY HURST LAVIANA
The Wichita Eagle
A 1977 murder case is going back to a Sedgwick County courtroom this month to see whether modern DNA testing can shed new light on the crime.
The Kansas Court of Appeals ordered the hearing at the request of Merrill Andrews, who was convicted of the murder by a Sedgwick County jury.
Andrews was paroled from a life prison sentence in 1999 after spending 22 years behind bars. He is now serving an unrelated, 10-year federal prison sentence for bank robbery.
The Court of Appeals ruling said a Sedgwick County judge was wrong in denying Andrews the hearing. The ruling also rejected the argument that Andrews was using a 2001 DNA law to go on a fishing exhibition.
"While some aspects of (the law) might allow a 'fishing expedition,' we must conclude such an expedition is one the legislature has concluded is worth conducting," the court said.
The DNA law says anyone convicted in Kansas of rape or murder can ask for a hearing to determine whether evidence includes any biological material that could be subjected to DNA testing.
The Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that tracks wrongful convictions, lists two Kansans among the 225 people nationwide who have been exonerated through DNA testing. Both involved rape convictions that were overturned before the DNA law took effect.
Wichita lawyer Carl Maughan, who was appointed to represent Andrews at the hearing, said his client has always professed his innocence.
"Yes, he's already done his time, but if you were accused of murder and you were the wrong guy, I would assume you'd want to clear your name," Maughan said. "He just maintains that he's innocent on this charge and wants to get it cleared up."
Andrews was convicted in the death of Nola Babb, a 91-year-old retired businesswoman who was beaten in her home in the 3300 block of East 14th Street on Oct. 12, 1977, and later died of her injuries. Police said robbery was the motive.
Prosecutors based their case largely on the testimony of an informant who accused Andrews of being one of three men who broke into Babb's home. Friends of the informant, who has since died of natural causes, later said he lied when implicating Andrews.
Andrews, who later adopted the name Kamanda Kamangeni, built a reputation after his release as a mentor for at-risk youth in Wichita.
When he pleaded guilty to robbing the Credit Union of America office at 212 S. Ridge Road in 2002, he told a judge he was having financial problems and was unable to find a full-time job.
Deputy District Attorney Ann Swegle said the DNA law is rarely used by Sedgwick County defendants.
"We deal with it from time to time, but not very frequently," she said.
Although police today keep evidence in murder cases indefinitely, Swegle said she wasn't sure what the policy was in 1977.
"My understanding is that they keep it forever now," she said. "I'm not sure that's always been the case."
Evidence at the trial included at least one fingerprint that police said Andrews left on a tire rim. The rim came from the trunk of a stolen car that looked like one a witness saw at the murder scene.
Although forensic scientists once needed blood or body fluids to conduct a DNA test, new techniques allow them to sometimes extract a DNA sample from a smudged fingerprint.
Maughan said he hadn't gone through all the police reports in Andrews' case, but he said it's possible that "touch DNA" may ultimately prove his client's innocence.
"It's a somewhat novel area, but there may be DNA residue there to test," Maughan said. "It would depend in large part on what surface it was left on."
One of the two Kansas cases listed by the Innocence Project involved Joe C. Jones, who spent 6 ½ years in prison after being convicted of rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. The charges arose from an attack Aug. 24, 1985, outside a Topeka nightclub.
Jones, 25 at the time of the crime, was serving a life prison sentence when a 1991 forensics report concluded that semen found at the crime scene did not come from him.
He was released in July 1992 after a judge ordered a new trial and ruled that the new DNA evidence was admissible.
The second case involved Eddie Lowery, who served about 10 years in prison after a jury convicted him of rape, aggravated burglary and aggravated battery.
Those charges arose from the July 1981 rape of a 74-year-old Ogden woman.
Lowery was a 19-year-old Fort Riley soldier when, after a full day of questioning, he gave police a confession that he later recanted.
He was released on parole in 1991 and exonerated more than a decade later after a DNA test showed he did not commit the crime.
Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.

Bill of Rights Day.

2008-12-15T23:23:00.003-06:00

December 15 is Bill of Rights Day. As this day comes close on the heals of Thanksgiving day, let me give thanks to God for endowing us with the inalienable rights listed in the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Secondly, let me give thanks to our founding fathers for the wisdom to enshrine these rights in a bill of rights. Many who opposed the creation of the Bill of Rights were opposed upon the basis that the such a declaration was unnecessary. Their position was that the existence of these rights were self evident. However, by codifying this list of rights the founders created an important bulwark against the constant erosion of our God given rights.

Without the bill of rights your right to keep and bear arms would not have merely been reduced to the right to keep and bear arms, unless you happen to have a felony conviction, live within the city limits of most cities in the United States, want to bear certain arms that are prohibited by law, or meet one of several other limitations on your right to bear arms. It would be non existent.

Without the bill of rights your right to free speech would not merely have been reduced to a right to free speech so long as it is not speech (or other non verbal communications) which violates the McCain Feingold campaign finance laws, expresses thoughts which the government deems to be hate thoughts (renderering your speech to be a hate crime), or is politically incorrect and therefore shunned into silence by official and non offical means. Without the bill of rights your right to free speech would be non existent.

Without the Bill of Rights your right to freedom of religion would not merely have been reduced to exercise of religion so long as it is merely exercised in the privacy of your own heart and home and not exercised in the public square, public school or anywhere else where it may ostensibly offend some other citizen. Without the Bill of Rights your right to freedom of religion would be non existent.

Without the Bill of Rights your right to be secure in your persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures would not have merely been diminished to the point at which you can be ordered to turn over your DNA containing your most personal of information merely because the government accuses you of a felony. Without the Bill of Rights your right to be secure in your persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures would be non existent.

Above are simply some examples of your rights under attack. Without the Bill of Rights the erosion of your rights under the law would certainly be deeper and more pronounced than you currently endure.

The Constitution of the United States specifies three branches of Government. The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. There is a fourth branch of government. You, the people. It is to this fourth branch of the government that the preservation of the Bill of Rights and our inalienable rights is entrusted. We have a duty to exercise our rights and stand firm against the erosion of our rights and those of our neighbors. A right not protected and not exercised is a right which the other branches of government will see as ripe for erosion.

The legislature is primarily concerned with designating what you can and can not do. It is a branch of government that has very little natural concern for preserving the rights of the citizenry.

The executive Branch is concerned with the implementation, or execution, of the laws passed by the legislature. It's primary concern is the exercise of governmental power, not the protection of individual rights.

The Judiciary is the branch which is most associated with the defense of the rights of the citizens. However, in reality, this is a branch of government which is mostly concerned with balancing the interests and rights of various people, government entities and corporations. Even when the Judiciary is inclined to protect the rights of the individual it is unable to do so if the individual does not assert the right.

So, it falls to you, the people of the United States, to assert your rights, to exercise your rights, to defend the rights of others and to jealously guard against any infringement upon your rights and the rights of others. Your right to be secure in your person, papers and effects has no value when you consent to having some government agent enter into your house, rifle through your papers and seize or detain your person. Every such act is a disservice to yourself, your fellow citizens and to your country.

Happy Bill of Rights Day.

Lessons from recent win in Reno County District Court.

2008-12-10T23:52:00.003-06:00

Carl Maughan, a lawyer with Maughan and Maughan L.C. recently won a jury trial in Reno County District Court where our client had been charged with aggravated battery (intentional physical contact causing great bodily harm or disfigurement.) Aggravated battery is a severity level 4 person felony. Our client was facing a prison sentence of approximately 16 years. At the close of the trial the jury returned a verdict finding our client not guilty of aggravated battery and guilty of a battery, a class B misdemeanor which carries a maximum sentence of six months in the county jail.

The case had a peculiar procedural history. Our client was arrested and accused of the crime after he had been involved in a physical altercation in a bar in Hutchinson, Kansas. Some time after the altercation the complaining witness reported to the emergency room where he was determined to have a broken nose which ultimately required surgery to repair. The case was originally charged as a a severity level 7 aggravated battery (a felony which requires mere bodily harm as opposed to great bodily harm.) Our client had previously waived his right to a preliminary hearing while represented by a different attorney. After we entered our appearance as the attorney of record we prepared for trial and appeared in court on the day the case was set for jury trial. However, on that date the prosecutor announced that they intended to amend the charges to the higher level felony if the defendant did not plea as charged. Our client declined the offer. However, because he had waived his right to a preliminary hearing when charged with the lesser crime, the amendment to the higher severity level of aggravated battery allowed us to insist upon a preliminary hearing.

Prior to the preliminary hearing, a review of the police reports revealed few defenses. However, at the preliminary hearing the complaining witness testified that his nose was broken, not in the bar as indicated in the police reports, but outside the bar after the initial fight when someone had kicked him in the face. He further testified that he did not know who kicked him and simply assumed it was our client because of the earlier altercation.

Later, on the day of the jury trial, the prosecution offered our client a plea which would have resulted in a six year sentence and then seemed incredulous when our client refused the offer. The prosecutor was convinced that the medical evidence would show that the complaining witness had suffered great bodily harm.

At trial we were able to use the complaining witness' preliminary hearing testimony to show that there was no evidence that our client had delivered the kick which supposedly broke the nose of the supposed victim . We were also able to introduce evidence that the complaining witness had been beaten bloody in a bar fight just a week earlier. The doctors who testified were unable to say whether the broken nose had occurred the night that he went to the emergency room or a week earlier. As a result the jury acquitted our client of aggravated battery and found him guilty of a misdemeanor battery resulting from the altercation inside the bar.

This result did not appear possible after an intitial review the police reports. It was only after cross examining the complaining witness at a preliminary hearing and obtaining an admission that he did not see who had kicked him and did not know who had kicked him, that a road to victory became apparent. When a portion of a transcript from the preliminary hearing containing this testimony was placed before the jury along with evidence that the injury could have occurred a week earlier, the jury did the right thing and concluded that there was reasonable doubt as to whether our client committed the crime that the State accused him of committing.

The lesson to be gleaned from this trial for the defense is as follows: 1. Do not waive your right to a preliminary hearing unless you do not expect to go to trial. Obtaining a preview of the testimony before trial is invaluable. 2. Talk to the witnesses even if victory seems unlikely. 3. Even cases that appear to be hopeless upon first review can be won. (As always this advice is not absolute. The specific facts of any individual case may warrant a different approach.)

The lessons that can be learned by the prosecutor: 1. If you have successfully obtained a waiver of preliminary hearing do not amend the charges in such a way that would allow the defendant a second chance at a preliminary hearing unless you know what your witnesses will say. 2. If you were not present during the preliminary hearing read the transcript so that you know what your witnesses said under oath. 3. Do not assume that you know everything about the case just because you have read the police reports. Sometimes the investigation is lacking.

In this case we were able to save our client from 16 years of undeserved incarceration by doing the basics. Have a preliminary hearing, get a transcript of the hearing, talk to the witnesses and carefully prepare for trial. Maughan and Maughan LC won this case by trying our case rather than that of the prosecution.

Kate Zigtema wins in City Court - eventually.

2008-12-10T23:32:00.003-06:00

On Monday, December 8, 2008, Maughan & Maughan LC Lawyer, Kate Zigtema obtained a not guilty verdict in Wichita Municipal Court - eventually. Our client was accused of domestic battery however, the City had some difficulty proving their case after Ms Zigtema convinced the Court that the statements made by the defendant regarding the case were obtained by law enforcement in violation of the 5th Amendment to the U.S Constitution. Faced with a lack of evidence of the relationship between the accused and the complaining witness, and therefore being unable to prove a crucial element of the crime of domestic battery, the city prosecutor moved to amend the charges to simple battery, a crime which does not require a familial or intimate relationship between the parties. This amendment of the charge was sought after the prosecutor had rested their case but before a verdict had been rendered. K.S.A. 22-3201 (e) States in pertinent part that: “ The court may permit a complaint to be amended at any time before verdict or finding if no additional or different crime is charged and if substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced.” The problem here is that the amendment from domestic battery to simple battery charges a different crime from that which was originally charged. The crimes of Domestic Battery and Simple Battery have different elements which need to be proven by the prosecution. Changing the charges after the defendant has already sought to defend against the accusation that he committed a different crime is unfair, violates the double jeopardy clause of the U.S Constitution and runs contrary to the rule laid forth in k.S.A. 22-3201.

Having won a battle over whether our client's statements were obtained in violation of his "Miranda" rights and lost a battle that she should have won over whether the city could amend the charges to conform with the evidence, Kate Zigtema, an associate attorney with Maughan and Maughan LC was ultimately successful when the Court found our client to be not guilty.

Congratulations Kate.

Maughan & Maughan LC attorney to be licensed to practice law in Missouri.

2008-09-29T15:20:00.001-05:00

Kate Zigtema, an associate attorney with Maughan & Maughan LC, recently received word that she had passed the Missouri Bar exam. The announcement clears the way for Ms. Zigtema to take the oath and be sworn in as an attorney in the State of Missouri. Ms. Zigtema is currently a licensed attorney in the State of Kansas where she practices in the area of criminal law with Maughan & Maughan LC.

We congratulate Kate on her achievement. Her decision to sit for the Missouri Bar Exam and the results speak highly of her dedication and commitment.

Kate's admission to the Missouri Bar will allow Maughan & Maughan to better serve our clients, allowing the law firm to represent our clients' interests and defend their rights, not only in Kansas, but accross the State line in Missouri. We look forward to the opportunity to expand the services we are able to provide to our clients.

Congratulations, Kate.

Carl F.A. Maughan
Attorney at Law
Maughan & Maughan LC
200 West Douglas Suite 350
Wichita Kansas 67202
316.264.2023 (tel)
316.264.1919 (fax)

*****
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Maughan & Maughan LC listed in top 25 law firms.

2008-06-28T00:17:00.004-05:00

Maughan & Maughan LC ranks 24th amongst the top 25 law firms in Wichita according to the June 20, 2008 issue of the Wichita Business Journal. The Wichita Business Journal publishes an annual list of the top twenty five law firms in the city as ranked by firm size. Maughan & Maughan LC moved up one position this year over the 2007 list in which the firm was ranked as the 25th largest firm in Wichita.

The fact that Maughan & Maughan LC, a firm which is barely four years old, is even ranked as one of the firms listed in the Business Journal's survey of Wichita law firms is an accomplishment. We are pleased that we have moved up in the rankings over last year. The continued growth and success of the firm is a tribute to the dedication of our attorneys and staff who strive on a daily basis to ensure that we are able to provide client centered representation for our clients in a variety of practice areas including the defense of those accused of crimes, family law, juvenile rights, appellate advocacy, personal injury, civil litigation and other areas of legal practice. We have made it our mission to defend the rights and protect the interests of our clients against all adversaries. This mission has propelled the firm to greater status and size over the last four years and we expect this growth and development to continue in the years to come.

DUI check point results

2008-06-25T20:11:00.004-05:00

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's office conducted a DUI checkpoint in Eastern Sedgwick County on the evening of June 13, 2008. While the results of this roadblock were better than the .065% success rate about which I blogged previously, one can not exactly call the sobriety checkpoint a raving success.

Two hundred drivers and an unknown number of passengers were detained under the color of authority by law enforcement officials and prevented from exercising their constitutional right to go about their business without being subject to unreasonable seizures by the government. These citizens were not suspected of a crime or even a traffic infraction. Rather they were simply driving a vehicle on the public roads. Six of those two hundred drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in contravention of Kansas Law. If we only consider the drivers of the vehicles and not any passengers who were also subjected to seizure by the government, this is a 3.5% success rate. Is this a reasonable success rate upon which to justify government intrusion into the lives of innocent citizens?

When tactics such as saturation patrols in which people are stopped only if officers see a traffic infraction are more effective tools to detect drunk drivers and less intrusive into the lives of innocent citizens, why do these sobriety check points prevail? Do they exist to ferret out those who are driving under the influence of alcohol or is ttheir existence spurred by the financial grants which come with the condition that DUI check points are conducted?

DUI check point Friday June 13, 2008

2008-06-11T22:09:00.004-05:00

The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department announced today that they will be conducting a sobriety check lane in Eastern Sedgwick County on Friday June 13, 2008 starting at 11:30 p.m and ending at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

If you are driving in the area of Eastern Sedgwick County during these times you are liable to be detained by law enforcement officials for no reason other than the fact that you happen to be driving in this area. We can all applaud the stated goal of decreasing the number of intoxicated drivers on the roads. However, given the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, one should ask whether it is a proper use of the police powers of government to seize law abiding drivers and our passengers without any suspicion of wrongdoing simply because they happened to be at a certain location at a certain time. In one DUI checkpoint conducted by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department in the last year 635 drivers were seized and detained along with their passengers. 10 DUI arrests were made. This checkpoint had a success rate of 0.65 percent. This success rate is not unusual for DUI checkpoints. With such a low success rate it is certainly a fair question to ask whether a seizure in a DUI checkpoint is reasonable and therefore legal.

Do not drink and drive. But if you wish to avoid an arguably unreasonable seizure by government officials, you might wish to avoid driving in Eastern Sedgwick County during the hours of 11:30 P.m Friday June 13, 2008 and 2:00 p.m on Saturday June 14, 2008.

Common sense prevails

2008-05-15T10:36:00.004-05:00

On April 20, 2008, the Wichita Eagle’s Kansas.com reported the arrest of John Forrest for carrying a concealed weapon. John, having come from helping a neighbor carve a roast, traveled to the City Building to deliver some documents to the Mayor’s office pertaining to a proposed Youth Rugby League. However, John had forgotten that he had placed the carving knife in his bag after leaving his neighbor’s house. As John entered the City Building, he placed his bag in the x-ray machine where the knife was noticed by law enforcement. Despite the fact that the police apparently believed that this knife had accidentally been left in the bag, John was arrested an booked into jail for carrying a concealed weapon.

Carl Maughan of Maughan and Maughan LC represented Mr. Forrest in Municipal Court for one count of carrying a concealed weapon and intended to proceed to trial on the issues of whether the knife was in fact concealed on John’s person as required by the ordinance, whether John had knowingly carried a concealed weapon as required by the ordinance and whether the knife was in fact concealed when John willingly placed his bag through an x-ray machine which would be able to reveal the contents of his bag. However, a trial will no longer be necessary. On May 14, 2008 Mr. Maughan was notified by the city prosecutor’s office that the charges against Mr. Forrest are to be dismissed.

Common sense apparently prevailed in this case. We are very happy for Mr. Forrest.

Here is the original story by Hurst Laviana. www.kansas.com/213/story/378468.html

Success in City Court

2008-05-15T10:36:00.003-05:00

The lawyer's of Maughan and Maughan LC work tirelessly to provide criminal defense to indigent defendants in Wichita Municipal Court. This is but one area of the services we provide as we strive to protect the rights and defend the interests of our clients in a variety of different arenas. However, as the work that these attorneys provide for our clients is never ending, they seldom receive the recognition that they deserve. Day in and Day out, our lawyers work for the best outcome for the clients, to try to find a resolution that will please our clients. Most of the time, these goals are achieved through the negotiation of plea agreements. The vast majority of these plea agreements represent settlements that everyone can live with. Occasionally, no settlement can be reached. On these occasions, our lawyers rise to meet the challenge and are willing and able to proceed to trial and to insist that the city meets its burden to prove the accusations that they have made against our client. Then, win or lose, our lawyers turn around and do it all again, throwing themselves into the task of helping the next client. It is a grueling and thankless position that can sometimes seem never ending. Yet, they continue to fight on.

In the last few days, our lawyers have obtained back to back not guilty verdicts for our city public defender clients. The first trial was won by Attorney Chris Holzman, the newest member of our firm, who obtained the acquittal of a citizen accused of possession of marijuana. The acquittal was achieved despite testimony that the marijuana was found in a compartment of the vehicle next to where the defendant sat, that the defendant had a green tongue consistent with the smoking of marijuana, and that at the defendant's feet were the contents of a cigar from which the tobacco had been removed in a manner similar to that used by those who would use the cigar wrapping to hold marijuana that they intend to smoke. The second not guilty verdict came at the hands of attorney Kate Zigtema who tried a domestic violence battery case. Despite evidence that the defendant may have had physical contact with the victim and despite a long arrest record, our attorney was able to obtain a not guilty verdict by skillfully undermining the credibility of the complaining victim.

While the not guilty verdicts themselves are not necessarily unusual and therefore not especially noteworthy, they serve to remind those of us at the firm who do not regularly assist our indigent clients in City court of the hard work of these lawyers. These acquittals provide the perfect moment to offer a sincere thank you to the Maughan and Maughan attorneys who work to assist those who could not afford an attorney of their own and must now defend against the accusation of wrong doing in municipal court.

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.

2008-05-15T00:53:00.001-05:00

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states in part: "The rights of the people to be secure in their houses, persons, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated...."

This amendment, along with the nine others which make up the bill of rights, was not passed without careful consideration but rather, it played an integral role in the ratification of the Constitution which appeared to lack the support necessary for passage without the inclusion of these amendments. As such, the freedoms enumerated in this amendment should be seen as key component of the ordered liberty which is the very foundation of our republic. It should be noted that the wording of the amendment suggests a recognition that the right pre-existed the drafting of the amendment.

For all our blustering praise for, and our much touted love of, freedom, I wonder whether we as a people really treasure these freedoms or whether they have dwindled in our heart as well as our courts to the point that they remain mere husks of the once treasured liberties.

These concerns are obviously not original with me. However recent experience has raised these concerns in my mind.

I was in jury trial last week defending a client accused of DUI. (Driving under the influence of alcohol) in Wichita, Kansas. My client had been stopped in a DUI checklane operated by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department. During jury selection the attorney for the State inquired as to whether anyone had any objection to law enforcement stopping everyone who drove down a certain road at a certain time in order to check whether they were under the influence of alcohol. I was shocked to find that not one person on the jury panel found it objectionable for government agents to detain people for no reason other than that they happened to drive down a certain road at a certain time. Freedom from unreasonable government seizure of one's person and possessions? Is it valued at all when twelve citizens chosen at random in a fairly conservative Midwestern city find nothing objectionable to the government using their police powers to require that someone be detained and required to submit themselves to government inspection when there is no suspicion of wrong doing and the individual is simply driving down the road minding their own business?

Perhaps it is the reasonableness aspect of the 4th amendment's prohibition on seizures that allows twelve of my fellow citizens to find nothing objectionable about such government intrusion into the lives of the people. Is it not reasonable for the government to try to protect the people from the dangers of having drunk drivers on the road? Perhaps it is. However, the intrusion into the lives of innocents in the name of ferreting out the few law breakers can not be justified as reasonable in the instance of D.U.I. Check lanes.

In the case we are discussing 635 vehicles carrying an unknown number of citizens were detained by law enforcement under threat of force. These detentions were ostensibly designed to deter and apprehend drunk drivers. The check lane had a success rate of 0.635 percent. This success rate is about normal for DUI checkpoints. Is it reasonable for the government to detain citizens of the United States who are minding their own business on the chance that 0.635 of them may be breaking the law? Remember the true success rate is even lower as many of the 635 vehicles which were stopped would have had more than one person in the vehicle. It does not appear reasonable to me and I am astounded that the cross section of our population represented by the jury panel had no objection to such a practice. This is to say nothing about the judge (Rebecca Pilshaw) who should have known better but ruled that the seizure of these 635 or more people was reasonable. Despite testimony that saturation patrols during which drivers are stopped based upon reasonable suspicion that they have committed a traffic in fraction, are more effective in detecting and apprehending drunk drivers.

It appears to me that we have lost our way. Despite our protestations to the contrary, we do not love liberty, at least not as much as we yearn to be protected from every evil both big and small. In a country which prides itself on being a country governed by laws and not men, we have ignored our most fundamental laws as laid forth in the constitution in favor of blind adherence to the lesser laws laid forth by state legislatures and the pens of judges.

In this month of Law Day I implore my fellow citizens to meditate upon the constitution and think about freedom. Do we value it? Or is liberty nothing more than a bumper sticker slogan and the constitution something we uphold as the law of the land so long as the intention of those who would violate it are good?

For the good of this country and all the individuals who live in it, I hope that the spark of freedom still lives in the embers of the American soul and we are still willing to fan that spark into a fire that will sustain us through the darkest and coldest nights. For dark, cold nights will come and, during these times, only the flames of liberty will keep us on course, light our way and protect us from the predators who lurk beyond the protective glow of this fire.

Carl F.A. Maughan
Attorney at Law
Maughan & Maughan LC
200 West Douglas Suite 350
Wichita Kansas 67202
316.264.2023 (tel)
316.264.1919 (fax)

Rights and Duties under the law

2008-05-05T00:59:00.007-05:00

As we have recently celebrated law day, it seems appropriate to post a speech which Carl Maughan delivered on the occasion of his Naturalization as a United States Citizen in which he addressed the rights and obligations of citizens under the constitution of the United States. Mr. Maughan was invited to give the speech at the Naturalization ceremony as a lawyer and representative of the the Wichita Bar Association which sponsored the ceremony. The speech is reproduced below:

******

Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow Americans. My name is Carl Maughan, I am a lawyer With the law firm Maughan Hitchcock, I am here today on behalf of the Wichita bar Association and the members of the legal profession to recognize and honor your decision to accept the mantle and responsibilities of citizenship and to extend our heartfelt thanks for, and admiration of, your commitment to this country and the ideals it represents.

Congratulations. You are now Americans. And So, In the spirit of Patrick Henry who, during the debate for the ratification of the constitution, Proclaimed, “I am no longer a Virginian, Sir, but an American,” I declare that you are no longer Mexicans nor Koreans nor Canadians. You are not French- Americans nor African-Americans nor Vietnamese Americans. You are Americans - and you now carry with you the legacy of all those who have gone before, you, who have lived and fought, struggled and died to create a nation and a political system which President Ronald Reagan so aptly described as a shining city on a hill. You now carry the duty and responsibility as an American to live and fight, to struggle and perhaps die to preserve this nation, its ideals and its philosophy for future generations of Americans.

This very idea, the idea that we hold this nation, this republic, this bastion of freedom, in trust for ourselves and those who come after us is recognized in the pre amble to the constitution itself. That the constitution was established to – “secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity” is no less than one of the fundamental reasons laid forth in the preamble for the establishment of the constitution of the United States of America.

It is not a small thing that we have accepted today, this duty of citizenship. By taking the oath we have just taken, we have pledged to do nothing short of keeping the city shining, of making it brighter, of preserving it as a beacon to guide us on to the fulfillment of our destiny.

That we have freely decided to accept this obligation rather than having it bestowed upon us as a birth right is a fitting tribute to a constitution which places the power in the hands of the people who decide to exercise it rather than in the laps of those who claim a divine right to govern. However, because we have freely decided to take on this role, the duties and the moral responsibility of citizenship, should burn brighter in our mind than in the minds of our fellow Americans who came by their citizenship without any active decision to accept that coveted status. It is we who have chosen to accept the challenge of preserving liberty for ourselves and for those who come after us. And so, it is we who must live up to that challenge.

It gives me the greatest of pleasure to address you as: “my fellow Americans”. As you saw, I too raise my right hand and took the oath and became a citizen today. While I do not claim to know the hardship, the struggle and the suffering that each of you have endured in order to get here, nor the joy that resided in your heart as you repeated the oath today, I do understand it and admire it. I understand it from undertaking the same struggle in my own small way and from experiencing the same great pleasure and honor of finally raising my hand and becoming American.

Ladies and Gentlemen, our long journey is over. We have made it. It is fitting that this ceremony is held at the birth of a new year, for, as with the ending of one year and the beginning of another, one chapter of our lives now draws to a close and a new chapter begins. And so, it is right that we should pause, to take time to relish our fortune, to thank God for our fortune and to celebrate. But we must also take time to gather our strength, for America needs our strength. Today we have pledged to take on a new burden, to heft a new pack upon our shoulders, to roll up our sleeves and to be a citizen and to accept all the inherent rights privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.

During the time that the constitution was being drafted, there was great speculation and concern about what type of political system the delegates would create. At the close of the convention as the delegates were leaving the hall, an old lady is reported to have approached one of the delegates and asked: “What hast though wrought?” The delegate apparently looked at her and responded: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

It is the citizens of this country that have been entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the republic, of fostering it and maintaining this fragile political system that is our national treasure. That is now our responsibility.

The constitution lays out in explicit detail, your rights as an American. What it does not specify is your duties. But all rights come with responsibilities. Sadly, these responsibilities are all too often ignored by citizens of this country in favor of insistence upon the rights and benefits which are plentiful. As a result, we may be in danger of loosing the Republic which was so carefully crafted for us.

By taking the pledge today, we, like the founders before us, have pledged our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to the task of preserving, restoring and keeping the promise of liberty for us and our posterity.

I am not sure who said it and I am sure they will forgive my loose paraphrasing, but it has been said that

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. it will only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury. As a result the democracy slides into bankruptcy and eventually falls apart

It has also been said that the life cycle of a democratic political system is as follows:

From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence, back into bondage."

The duties of citizenship are just not simple tasks, such as voting, or serving on a jury duty, although those are duties of citizenship. The true duty of citizenship is eternal vigilance against threats to our nation. Vigilance against the obvious, overt threats such as terrorism. Vigilance against the insidious, creeping threats of complacency and apathy. Vigilance against the greed of the voters who seek only benefits from the public treasury, and against the sloth of the officials who would give it to them. And vigilance against the erosion of our liberty in the name of security.

The duty of citizenship is the duty to educate yourself about what your elected officials are doing, it is the duty to speak out and act when the government fails to adhere to the true principals of the constitution. It is the duty to accept responsibility for yourself so that the government and your fellow citizens are not required to. It is the duty to insist that others do the same. And it is your duty to defend against the erosion of your rights and those of your fellow citizens.

You are now a citizen of one of the greatest nations to tread the pages of history and a member of one of the most perfect political systems ever devised by man. It is your solemn duty to preserve it and pass it on to those who are coming behind you. Much is made of the rights with which you have been endowed by your creator. The constitution itself lays forth many of those rights and, it is no accident that two of the ten amendments that form the bill of rights, the ninth and tenth amendments, refer to rights that are not specified in the constitution but retained by, or reserved to, the people. But remember there are responsibilities that go with those rights. Just as the rights which are not enumerated in the constitution are reserved to the people, so to are the duties reserved to the people.

You have a right to speak your mind. And a duty to become informed and to speak up against all those who would squelch the voice of another, no matter how much you may disagree with that voice

You have a right to bear arms. And a duty to defend against those who would disarm you.

You have a right to praise the god of your choice, and a duty to ensure that the government does not infringe upon that right by pushing your faith from the public square and insisting that you keep it hidden in the privacy of your home and heart.

You have a right to vote and a duty to be informed of the actions of those for whom you vote and to terminate their employment when they no longer serve the principals of the constitution.

You have a right to petition the government for grievances and a duty to know that the government is limited. It can not solve all your problems, nor should it.

You have a right to own property free from unreasonable government interference and a duty to defend your property and that of others from any such interference.

You have a right, and duty, to exercise every right bestowed upon you by God and memorialized by the constitution of the United States, and a duty to defend the rights of the person next to you to do the same.

You have a right to say “ I am a citizen of the United States” and a duty to ensure that this status is not diminished by those who would seek the rights, benefits, and privileges that this country offers without accepting the corresponding duties.

Some will say that I have been pessimistic by focusing on the duties of citizenship and not on the rights and privileges. But you must remember, I am a lawyer, it is in my nature to be pessimistic to focus on duties and responsibilities. After all, I am a member of a profession which works on a daily basis to preserve the delicate balance of duties and responsibilities whether that balance lies between two individuals, between an individual and a corporation, or between the powers of the government and the rights of the average man. And so, it is as a member of this profession that I am here to recognize that it is an awesome thing that you have done today. By taking the oath of citizenship, you have risen to your responsibilities and faced up to your duties. It is not something you were required to do, and yet, you chose to accept the duties of citizenship so that you may enjoy the rights and privileges that go along with it. For that I would like to thank you. Not just as a lawyer but as a human being and a fellow citizen who watched my two young children playing this morning and thought of a story I had heard recently about an immigrant who had escaped from some dictatorship or other had been granted asylum in the U.S. A reporter who was interviewing him commented that the man’s story made the reporter realize how lucky he is to live in America. The immigrant just shook his head and said. “It is me who is lucky. I had somewhere to escape to.”

If we fail in our duty to preserve liberty in this country where will our children escape to? If liberty should ever fall in the U.S, if we allow it to be overwhelmed by our demands for benefits from the public treasury or to be squashed by our desire for security or to slowly wither because of our apathy or lethargy, then where shall our children find freedom? It is for them, for the next generation that we undertake our duties as citizens. So they may continue to live in that shining city on a hill.

It is in recognition of our responsibility to secure the benefits of liberty, not just for our selves, but for those that come after us that I would like to leave you with this poem by Will Allen Dromgoole.

It is called the Bridge Builder:

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and Grey,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him.
But he turned when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“old man” said a fellow pilgrim near,
you are wasting strength with building here
your journey will end with the ending day;
you never again must pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide.
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?

The builder lifted his old gray head;
Good friend, in the path I have come, -- he said,
There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm which has been naught to me
May to that fair haired youth a pitfall be
He too must cross in the twilight dim
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.

Once again, thank you for the commitment you have undertaken. If we keep the pledge we have taken today always in our mind, and strive to live up to the ideals we embraced when we decided to become a citizen, surely the city will shine for generations to come.

***********

Delivered at the Naturalization Ceremony January 12, 2007, Wichita, Kansas.

Law Day

2008-05-05T00:59:00.004-05:00

Since 1958 when President Eisenhower first designated May 1st as Law Day this day has been celebrated in the United States as a day on which the law and the rule of Law are recognized for the role they play in our society and the importance these concepts have to the notion of ordered liberty which is at the very foundation of the political system upon which our nation was built.

Law Day is codified in the statutes of the United States in 13 U.S.C. 113 in which May 1st is designated as a special day of celebration by the people of the United States in appreciation of their liberties, the reaffirmation of their loyalty to the United States and of their rededication to the ideals of equality and justice under law. It is further set aside as a day for the cultivation of the respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life.

The United States of America and the various constituent States which make up our country is awash in laws passed by the various Federal, State, and local governments and their administrative agencies. These laws in conjunction with the constitution of the United States, govern the interactions between people, governments and corporate entities. They set out our rights and our obligations and ease the friction where these two competing concepts clash. The law, and lawyers ,as those who are the advocates of the rights of one and the obligations of another, hold the fabric of our political and social network together. To disregard the law and ignore the rule of law is to start down the path toward the disintegration of our country, our values and our way of life.

It is a civil duty of citizens of this nation to strive at every moment to preserve the rule of law and respect for our legal system. Principal to this duty is the duty to preserve the dictates of the Constitution and the limits that the Constitution places on government's ability to propagate laws. We must always stand vigilant against the possibility that government, as the only entity which can create laws, shifts the balance between rights and obligations in favor of government through the writing of, judicial interpretation of, and execution of laws to that end. The defense against such action is strict adherence to the Constitution and the principles laid forth therein.

The Constitution of the United States is the primary law of this nation and the several states. So long as the rule of law is respected there can be only one long term and systematic threat to the Law as laid forth in the United States Constitution. Paradoxically, that threat comes from the law. Specifically, from the law as written by legislative bodies, implemented by administrative bodies and interpreted by judicial bodies.

Law day should serve to remind us all that preservation of the rule of law is vital to the long term survival of our society. However, adherence to the rule of law to the exclusion of a critical analysis as to whether the law poses a threat to the principles of the Constitution would lead to an insidious transformation of our society and render our nation unrecognizable. To this end, Law day should serve to compel us to recognize that laws that subvert or dilute the constitutional imperatives are not worthy of our respect or our adherence.

At Maughan & Maughan, Law day is a day where we rededicate ourselves to our mission to stand as defenders of the constitute and protectors of those who's rights might be infringed upon by the government, a corporation, or another citizen.

Maughan and Maughan client no longer facing death penalty

2008-04-03T00:43:00.003-05:00

A client of Maughan and Maughan LC is currently facing RICO (racketeering) related charges which accuse him of crimes which the government claim were committed to support and aid the Crips, a supposed street gang which, at least in the Wichita area, is a diffuse and disorganized group, and which the government maintains is an organized and structured criminal enterprise.

The government had previously filed an indictment which gave notice of the possibility that the government would seek the death penalty against out client. Apparently, however, our client is no longer facing capital punishment.

After months of representation in which we pressured the prosecutors to provide some evidence as to why the government believed that our client was involved in a capital crime, the government has finally filed a superceding indictment which removes the notice that our client may be facing the death penalty. This move apparently indicates that the government has chosen not to procede with any attempt to seek the death penaltly against our client.

While the fight goes on, it appears that this battle has gone in favor of Maughan and Maughan LC and our client.

Maughan & Maughan LC launches web site - www.MaughanandMaughan.com

2007-11-21T22:54:00.002-06:00

We at Maughan & Maughan LC are pleased to announce our entry into cyber space with the launch of our web site on Friday November 23, 2007.

Visit our Web Portal at: http://www.maughanandmaughan.com/

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T22:54:00.001-06:00

The attorneys and staff of Maughan & Maughan LC would like wish our friends, families, clients and colleagues a happy thanksgiving. We pray that you and yours will have a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend and that you will find the time to thank your God for the blessings you have, for we all have some.

We would like to express our thanks to all those who have gone before us who have lived and fought, struggled and died to create a nation and a legal and political system which President Ronald Reagan so aptly described as a shining city on a hill. We pray for the strength to fulfill our duty and responsibility as Americans to live and fight, to struggle and perhaps die to preserve this nation, its ideals and its philosophy for future generations of Americans. After all, the pre-amble of the Constitution tells us that our political / legal system was established to – “secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity”

The rights and interests which we at Maughan & Maughan LC strive to defend on a daily basis have been given to us by God but maintained through the generations by those who have gone before us. Without those who put their lives, fortunes and their sacred honor at risk to found this nation and all those who have worked to maintain it for the next generation there may not be any significant rights for us, as lawyers, to defend.

We are grateful for those who have taken their responsibility to secure and pass on the blessings of liberty to another generation seriously and seek to honor them by doing the same.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Prosecutor declines to re-try Maughan & Maughan LC client for DUI after mistrial.

2007-11-21T22:54:00.000-06:00

Maughan & Maughan LC client has something to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving as the prosecutor officially announced that they would decline to continue prosecution of our client after a jury was unable to reach a verdict. Recently we reported that despite evidence that our client's breath alcohol concentration was.254 and evidence that he was involved in an injury accident, the jury reported that they were unable to come to a unanimous decision. After attorney Carl Maughan defended delivered his closing the jury deliberated for three hours before announcing that they were hung. The court had declared a mistrial and the matter had be scheduled for re-trial in December. Today, however, the prosecutor officially announced that they would not continue with the prosecution against our client.

The real victory in this situation goes to the rule of law and our constitutional rights. Our system depends upon the notion that we are Innocent unless the prosecutor can prove their accusations beyond all reasonable doubt. Apparently after further review, the prosecutor's office concluded that they would be unable to prove when the accused may have last driven the vehicle or what may have occurred between the time of driving and the time of arrest. To their credit, the prosecution, apparently concluded that without being able to prove this key element of the case it would be futile and unfair to continue to proceed against our client.

We are grateful for the victory on behalf of our client and remind all of our friends and clients to drive safely this holiday season. If you have celebrated the holiday with an alcoholic drink or two please have a friend, cab or other designated driver drive you home.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Maughan & Maughan named in top 25 Wichita law firms by Wichita Business Journal.

2007-11-09T00:25:00.003-06:00

On November 16, 2007, the Wichita Business Journal published its annual Book of List. We are proud to note that Maughan & Maughan LC was listed in the top 25 law firms in the City of Wichita. It is with thanks to our attorneys, staff and clients that we have achieved this milestone. We look forward to a bright future in which we continue to grow and to increase the ways in which we are able to represent our clients, protect their rights and defend their interests.

Maughan & Maughan client with.254 BAC after an accident not convicted of DUI

2007-11-09T00:25:00.002-06:00

During the week of November 12, 2007, Carl Maughan of Maughan & Maughan LC was involved in a jury trial where Mr. Maughan defended the interests of a young man who had been accused of driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. On Thursday Morning at 10:30 a.m, after three hours of deliberations, a jury announced to Sedgwick County District Court Judge Goering that, despite the introduction of evidence which suggested that the defendant may have been involved in an injury accident and that his breath alcohol concentration was .254 (more than three times the legal limit), they were unable to reach a verdict. The final count (in this six person jury) was five to one in favor of acquittal on the charge of driving with a Blood alcohol concentration of above .08 at the time of driving, and four to two in favor of a guilty verdict regarding the charge that the defendant drove a vehicle while so intoxicated that he could not safely operate the vehicle.

While we are saddened that we can not report an outright victory, the declaration that the jury was deadlocked resulted in the declaration of a mis-trial. We will need to re- try the case in December. However, the verdict ensures that our client is still not guilty. The jury was unable to determine when the defendant may have last driven the vehicle. Without knowing when the defendant last drove they could not determine whether he was intoxicated or above .o8 at the time of driving. In light of the evidence, we are happy with the outcome and confident that we will prevail if we need to try this case again in the future. You will learn the outcome here as soon as we know of it.

Thank you to the members of the United States Military and their family.

2007-11-09T00:25:00.001-06:00

At Maughan & Maughan LC we strive to defend the constitutional and legal rights of our clients and represent their best interests in the civil arena. However, as we mark Veterans Day 2007, it must be noted with humble gratitude that the rights and interests we seek to defend, and our very ability to fight on behalf of our clients, stands on the shoulders of those who have fought for, defended and (all to often), died to protect the political and legal system in which those rights are enshrined.

Both on this special day of tribute, and on every day, we offer our thanks to those who have taken up arms on behalf of our country and her interests around the world and across the years.

From the patriots who left their homes and farms to fight in the revolutionary war, to those who sought to maintain the new nation in the war of 1812, to those who fought for the principles of freedom on both sides of the civil war, to those who stood against tyranny in two world wars, Korea and Vietnam, to those who stand vigil against a new breed of extremist tyranny in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the countless many who put their lives at risk in nameless, unnoticed or unremembered conflicts and actions to defend United States, her interests and her principles, We thank you and pray for you.

On a personal note, November, 11 has special significance and meaning for Maughan & Maughan Partner, Carl Maughan as it coincides with the anniversary of the day on which a generation of people in a small British Colony in Southern Africa had the courage to stand against the power of Great Britain and world opinion. To declare themselves free and independent. In making a unilateral declaration of independence from Great Britain, the people of Rhodesia took destiny into their own hands to preserve their freedom and their way of life for the next generation. I, along with others who were born in, or lived in Rhodesia or Zimbabwe between 1965 and the start of the recent disintegration of the Zimbabwean economy and political system, owe a debt of gratitude to those who, at great risk, and with great courage, stood tall and declared themselves to be free, self governing and independent. They preserved the values, ideals and way of life of a people for another generation. I pray that we Americans can do the same for the generation to come.

Maughan and Maughan LC continues to grow.

2007-11-09T00:25:00.000-06:00

On November 5, 2007 Matt Dwyer started work as an associat attorney at Maughan and Maughan LC. The addition of Mr. Dwyer to the Maughan and Maughan team of attorneys will enhance the firm's ability to defend the rights and protect the interests of our clients. Mr. Dwyer will work primarily in the area of criminal defense, appellate advocacy and civil litigation.

The firm welcomes Matt and looks forward to the enhanced service we will be able to provide our clients as we continue to grow.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney returns from active duty in defense of freedom

2007-09-04T23:42:00.001-05:00

Maughan & Maughan founding partner, Faith Maughan returned from a stint in South Korea where she had been serving the United States Military in her role as an officer on the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Army. Faith had volunteered for the duty in which she participated in a joint military exercise involving all branches of the United States military as well as the South Korean military personell.

We welcome Faith's return to her role as admisinistrative partner and to her practice in the area of probate and juvenile law. To say we are happy to have her back is a gross understatement. More importantly, however, we are proud of her sacrifice in the defense of the United States, our allies, and the principles of freedom we cherish.

We would like to say thank you to Faith and all the members of our military and their families who volunteer to defend our rights and freedom. Let us all honor their sacrifice by asserting our freedoms and exercising our rights.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney argues the right of a defendant to present his own theory of defense before Kansas Supreme Court

2007-09-04T23:42:00.000-05:00

In the opening argument for the September docket of the Kansas Supreme Court, Maughan & Maughan appellate attorney, Carl Maughan, appeared to argue on behalf of Akira Brown's appeal of his conviction for first degree murder following an apparently gang related fatal shooting outside a night club in Wichita's old town district. While several issues were raised in the briefs for the appellant, the oral advocacy centered around Counsel's assertion of the constitutional right's of a criminal defense to present his own theory of defense throught his attorney to the jury and to confront the witnesses against him.

A decision by the Kansas Supreme Cpurt is expected in late October or Early November. Mr. Brown's attorneys remain confident that the constitutional rights to present a defense and confront one's accusers will be upheld before the Kansas Supreme Court as they have recently been up held by the United States Supreme Court in Davis v. Washington http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/05pdf/05-5224.pdf and Holmes v. South Carolina. http:///www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/05pdf/04-1327.pdf .

KATE ZIGTEMA TO JOIN MAUGHAN & MAUGHAN LC.

On another front, Maughan & Maughan LC is pleased to announce the addition of Kate Zigtema to our legal team. Kate will join the firm as an associate and will add extra depth to our criminal defense team.

Kate completed her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University in 2004 with a double major in International Business and Finance. Kate graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2007.

While at law school, Kate represented Kansas University in the Jessup International law moot court competition, She also worked with the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy. received court room experience as an employee of the Johnson County District Attorney’s where she prosecuted felony and misdemeanor crimes on behalf of the State of Kansas.

Kate will focus her practice on criminal defense litigation. Primarily, she will be providing legal services to our indigent clients under the Maughan & Maughan's contract to provide indigent defense services to those accused of crimes in Wichita Municipal Court.

We look forward to a long and fruitful association with Kate and welcome her aboard.

Maughan & Maughan lawyer wins another not guilty verdict in Wichita Municipal Court

2007-08-24T01:20:00.002-05:00

Logan Brown, once again obtained a not guilty verdict for one of the indigent citizens who qualified for a court appointed attorney in Wichita Municipal Court. Our client had been accused in two separate cases of committing misdemeanor crimes for Domestic Battery and disorderly conduct. After a consolidated trial on these two criminal charges, the court found the defendant guilty of one count of Criminal Damage to Property. However, On the more serious of the charges, domestic Battery, the client was found not guilty. The client's acquital on these accusations is the second not guilt verdict obtained by Logan Brown, an associate at Maughan and Maughan LC, within the last week. Congratulations Logan for another successful representation of one of our clients.

Maughan & Maughan attorney asserts clients 4th amendment rights and obtains dismissal of criminal charges.

2007-08-24T01:20:00.001-05:00

Logan Brown, an associate at Maughan & Maughan Law, obtained a dismissal of the misdemeanor possession of a concealed weapon charge against his client. The dismissal follows the filing, and litigation ,of a motion to suppress evidence after an illegal traffic stop conducted by the members of the Wichita Police Department. The defendant had been detained by law enforcement after a police officer observed his vehicle leave its lane of traffic briefly before returning to its lane. Logan arged that, in accordance with the recent decision from the Kansas Court of Appeals in State v. Ross., (Court of Appeals Docket # 94,503, opinion issued January 17, 2007) which held that a brief divergence from a lane of traffic is not necessarily a violation of Kansas law unless there is evidence that it is unsafe to do so. In Logan's case, there was no evidence that it was unsafe for the vehicle to deviate from its lane of traffic. The Court agreed that there was no violation of law which justified the defendant's seizure by law enforcement. Accordingly all evidence found as a result of the illegal seizure was found to be inadmissible in court. As a result the prosecutor dismissed the charges against our client.

As a side note, the victory in court ultimately heleped preserve the defendant's second amendment right to bear arms. The client's firearm was returned to him.

Logan won this victory while representing an indigent client in Wichita Municipal Court where Logan serves as a public defender.

Congratulations Logan.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney Deploys to Korea to Serve the United States..

2007-08-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

Faith Maughan, a founding partner at Maughan & Maughan, moved from defending the rights and interests of her clients as an attorney to defending the interests of the United States earlier this week when she was deployed to South Korea to represent her Army Reserve unit in military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. We thank her for her service to the country, and wish her a safe journey. She will be missed until she returns.

When Faith is not standing on the line between freedom and government oppression as an Army officer, she focuses her practice on Juvenile law in which defends the rights and best interest of children as a Guardian Ad Litem in cases involving a child in need of care (commonly known in Kansas as CINC cases). She also practices in the area of probate law representing clients in al legal matters involving wills, trusts, estates and guardianships. She also serves our community as a Judge in the municipal Court of Colwich, Kansas, a small town in Sedgwick County Kansas.

Felony Possession of Ephedrine conviction reversed on Appeal

2007-07-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

In State v. Maness, (Court of Appeals Docket # No. 96,024 (Kan. App. July 27, 2007) The Kansas Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion reversing the appellant's felony conviction for possession of pseudoephedrine. Maughan & Maughan Attorneys successfully argued that the trial court should have granted the defendant's motion to supress evidence which was illegally obtained in violation of the defendant's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The client had arrived at a local grocery store i na vehicle bearing Oklahoma tags. Our client and one other individual went into the store and then went their separate ways to do their shopping. Both individuals purchased some cold medication containing Pseudo Ephedrine and then met back at their vehicle. Such action does not warrant being seized, questioned and searched by law enforcement officers. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals reversed Sedgwick County Judge Rebecca Pilshaw's finding that the evidence was legally obtained and remanded the matter to the district court. In light of the fact that the government will have no legally obtained evidence, it is not expected that a new trial will be sought.

Maughan & Maughan Attorney obtains not guilt verdict.

2007-07-13T12:55:00.000-05:00

On July 11, 2007 Carl Maughan of Maughan & Maughan LC obtained a not guilty verdict in Wichita Municipal court where our client was accused of battery. Despite admissions on the part of the defendant to bodily contact with the complaining witness, the defense attorney, Carl Maughan, was successfully able to assert the defendant's right to self defense.

After reviewing the testimony of the complaining witness, who had been cross examined by the defense attorney, the court issued a statement of its findings in whcih the court noted that the complaining witness lacked credibility.

The result: A not guilty verdict and a very happy client.

Maughan & Maughan attorney argues to protect your privacy interest in the information found in your DNA.

2007-07-10T00:33:00.000-05:00

Carl Maughan of Maughan & Maughan LC appeared before the Kansas Court of Appeals today to argue a case of apparent first impressions. The issues that consumed the oral arguments was whether an individual may have a continuing privacy interest in their DNA regardless of whether a DNA sample had previously been lawfully obtained from the individual.

DNA databases are constantly being compiled by the State and Federal governments. The DNA samples are generally obtained through search warrants in individual cases or through statutory requirements that convicted felons provide samples to the government.

Given the vast amount of private and intensely personal information that could be found through the searching of an individual's genetic code, we argued that each individual search of the DNA sample to find comparisons with a suspected genetic materials should be treated as an individual search. Accordingly such searches should only be conducted after a neutral and detached magistrate has determined that there is probable cause to believe that there is probable cause to believe that a search of the individual's DNA for genetic markers that match a suspect sample will provide evidence of a crime.

We argued that DNA should be treated in the same way the courts treat the search of computer hard drives. Specifically, a search warrant issued to allow the seizure of a computer and the search of the hard drive for evidence of a drug crime, does not allow the government to open file folders which may provide evidence of a sex crime unless a new warrant is issued based upon probable cause to believe the extended search would reveal evidence of such a crime.

As the science improves and we learn more and more about the information contained within the human genome, the possibility of the government using DNA databases to access personal and private information about the individuals who's DNA samples are maintained in the database grows.

Failure to protect the privacy of the information contained in the DNA of citizens by requiring that the government obtain a search warrant before they scan through the information contained therein places our most private and personal information at risk for governmental intrusions, inspection and dissemination.

We, as human beings have a privacy interest in the information contained in our genetic material. That privacy interest is worth defending. The attorneys of Maughan & Maughan have risen to the challenge.

Lap Dances are free speech, yet donating money to a political party is not?

2007-07-02T15:01:00.001-05:00

So, Let me get this straight; Lap dances are free speech with constitutional protection (at least under the Oregon State Constitution) (See:article)
But donating so called soft money to a political party in an effort to express your own political beliefs and desires is not? (See McConnell v. Federal Election Commission,540 U.S. 93 (2003) http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=540&page=93)

Yet, people try to tell me that the constitutional framework that our founding father fought so hard to establish is not being eroded.

Undermining the reasonable suspicion standard.

2007-07-02T11:20:00.001-05:00

The Kansas Court of Appeals decided State v. Cook on Friday and published their opinion. In so doing the court affirmed the District Court's finding that a law enforcement officers decision to seize an individual because he had been seen exiting his vehicle and climbing into another vehicle for a brief period of time while in a high crime area was permissible.

While the opinion appears to continue the hollowing out of our fourth amendment protections, the dissent by Judge Greene is a welcome ray of hope.

The majority's decision would seem to allow almost any action taken by one who happens to live in a high crime area to support a detention of the individual, so long as the action causes suspicion to arise in the mind of a trained law enforcement officer. This seems to replace the "reasonably objective" standard of the past with a standard based upon the subjective opinion of the officer.

In Judge Greene's dissent he suggests that the Majority opinion comes perilously close to a position which would allow the detention of a citizen based upon a hunch so long as the hunch is formed by a law enforcement officer.

The Court's Opinion can be found at: http://www.kscourts.org/kscases/ctapp/2007/20070629/93825.htm

Logan Brown, a welcome addition to the firm.

2007-07-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce that Logan Brown has joined Maughan & Maughan as an associate attorney. Logan's back ground in banking adds additional depth to the diversity of experience which the firm brings to the representation of our clients.

Logan was born in Wichita Kansas and attended Bishop Carroll High School. He attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS where he graduated in May 2003 with an undergraduate degree in Finance. While at Fort Hays, Logan was a 4-year varsity letterman while competing for the Men’s Golf Team.

Logan entered the University of Kansas School of Law in May 2003. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Kansas in December 2005. While in law school, Logan was the recipient of the Enos Hook Scholarship in Law as well as the Seminole Indian Nation Graduate Law Scholarship. Immediately following graduation, Logan worked in the Trust Department at a large national bank in Kansas City, MO. While at the bank, his work focused on ERISA retirement plans, specifically 401(k), profit sharing and pension plans for large employers and professional service firms.

Logan will primarily practice in the area of criminal defense and play a key role in assisting the firm in the representation of indigent defendants accused of crimes by the City of Wichita.

Victory for the rule of law.

2007-06-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

Today the United States Senate responded to the power of "We the People" and voted to effectively defeat an immigration bill that could have fundamentally changed the nature of what it means to be a citizen of the United States. Those of us who have taken an oath to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States; and those of you who look to the law and the protections of the United States Constitution to ensure your liberty must, as a policy decision, applaud this victory for the rule of law.

By acting today, the Senate has refused to ignore the law. They refused to allow the law to become a suggestion rather than an imperative.

While the personal stories of many of those who will not now be swept into legal status may be heart rending, the policy decision to uphold the law must be applauded. If the nation had chosen to ignore the law on this point in response to the emotional individual stories of people who are portrayed as poor souls who are just looking for a way to feed their family, what rule of law might be set aside tomorrow or then next day, or the next?

Perhaps it would be the rules of evidence which ensure a fair trial for one accused of a crime. After all, the alleged victims also have heartbreaking stories.

Or, perhaps it would be The Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. After all, there are millions of people who have compelling and tragic personal stories about how drugs have ruined their lives. Surely, their stories and the greater good justify the disregard of laws requiring a warrant before the government searches your home and seizes your propertyin an effort to eradicate the scourge drugs.

Our constitutional system is a fragile one. The constitution itself has no power. The protection of our rights relies upon the people and the government recognizing and respecting the normative principles laid forth in the document as something which ought to be followed.

If our government makes a policy decision to ignore the rule of law then what protects our rights and freedoms from eventual subjugation?

About the firm

2007-06-27T09:53:00.002-05:00

At Maughan & Maughan LC we strive to live up to the goals represented in the slogans.

-Client Centered Legal Representation-

-Protecting Your Rights –

-Defending your interests-

The attorneys and staff of Maughan & Maughan LC are committed to delivering legal representation and counseling which is focused on our clients, their interests, desires and concerns. We strive to listen to our clients and to represent their interest and desires with empathy while delivering honest and knowledgeable advice, counsel and assistance.We are committed to protecting your rights and Defending your interests.

ABOUT OUR ATTORNEYS At Maughan & Maughan LC our lawyers’ backgrounds range from criminal defense, prosecution, construction, banking and civil litigation. Our legal team combine to bring small town Kansas values, International perspective, east coast grit and the common sense and savvy of Midwestern cities to bear upon our client centered representation. Our lawyers, Carl F.A. Maughan, Faith A.J. Maughan, Brian Carman, Shawn Lautz and Logan Brown stand ready to advocate for you. To protect your rights and defend your interests. If our lawyers can not help you. We will help you find someone who can.

ABOUT OUR STAFF At Maughan & Maughan LC, we recognize that you are not represented by a lawyer, you are represented by a law firm. Our support staff are integral to providing representation which is centered upon the needs, desires and interests of our clients and to helping the attorneys protect your rights and defend your interests in the courtroom, boardroom or in your day to day life.

The Attorneys at Maughan & Maughan act as the Public Defenders for the City of Wichita. In June 2006, Maughan & Maughan LC won an exclusive contract with the City of Wichita to provide public defender services in Wichita Municipal Court. Our mission as public defenders is to protect the rights and defend the interests indigent citizens who are accused of crimes in Wichita Municipal Court.

About My Partner, and wife.

2007-06-27T09:53:00.001-05:00

Faith Anne Johnson Maughan was born in Peabody, Kansas on December 9, 1970. She graduated from Peabody High School in 1989, and earned a B.A. in Psychology from Washburn University in 1993. After earning her degree, Mrs. Maughan worked for two years at Menningers in Topeka, Kansas.

Mrs. Maughan attended law school at Washburn University School of Law, earning a Juris Doctorate in May 1998. She was admitted to the Kansas Bar the same year. During law school, she clerked for Bennett & Dillon in Topeka and the City of Wichita Prosecutor’s Office.

After receiving her law degree, Mrs. Maughan returned to the City of Wichita as a prosecutor for one year. She was then an associate with Smith Shay Farmer & Wetta for three years, practicing in the areas of immigration, probate, trusts, criminal matters and civil litigation. Mrs. Maughan returned to prosecution as an assistant district attorney with the Reno County District Attorney’s Office. After two years in Reno County, she joined her husband, Carl F. A. Maughan in forming the firm that became Maughan and Maughan LC. Faith maintains a full practice and acts as the administrative partner of the firm.

Mrs. Maughan practices in the areas of immigration, probate and juvenile matters. She is a Captain with the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corp. Mrs. Maughan is also a member of St. Elizabeth Anne Seaton Catholic Church.

Inaugural

2007-06-27T09:53:00.000-05:00

It seems fitting that my inaugural post should include some biographical information.

Carl Fredrick Alexander Maughan was born and raised in the Southern African Country now known as Zimbabwe. After Graduating from High School in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa he traveled to Wichita and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994 from Wichita State University with a double major. in Political Science and Philosophy.

Carl earned his Juris Doctorate from The University of Akron in Ohio in May 1997. After returning to Kansas and being admitted to the Bar he set about gaining experience in the practice of law with an emphasis on the defense of those accused of crimes. In 2002, Mr. Maughan started his own law firm and worked as a sole practitioner until September 2004 when he joined with two former prosecutors, his wife, Faith Maughan, and friend Bryan Hitchcock and formed the law firm of Maughan Hitchcock LC. After Bryan returned to prosecuting the firm name was changed to Maughan and Maughan LC

Mr. Maughan maintains a general practice focusing in the areas of criminal defense, and, appellate practice, with some attention to civil trial practice, corporate law, international law and aviation law. In his primary practice areas Carl has represented clients accused of crimes including misdemeanor traffic, DUI, State and Federal drug crimes, person crimes including homecide and all areas of criminal law.

Mr. Maughan is holds a private pilots certificate, plays rugby with the Wichita Rugby Club and attends St. Elizabeth Anne Seaton Catholic Church with his wife and two children. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is Licensed to Practice before the Municipal, State and Federal courts of Kansas.

Please contact me if you have any questions or comments