Summary
The Kansas Supreme Court considered a constitutional challenge to statutory provisions defining and regulating “gray machines” under the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act. The court held that the definition was not unconstitutionally vague but was unconstitutionally overbroad because it potentially encompassed nearly any mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device and authorized confiscation of such property. The court reversed the district court and held the challenged provisions unconstitutional as they related to gray machines.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act's definition of a gray machine was unconstitutionally vague.
- Whether the definition of gray machines, together with the statutes authorizing confiscation and imposing criminal penalties, was unconstitutionally overbroad.
Holdings
- K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 74-8702(g) was not unconstitutionally vague because its statutory guidelines were sufficiently definite to permit precise application to particular devices.
- K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 74-8702(g), defining gray machines, in combination with K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 74-8750(d) and 74-8761, was unconstitutionally overbroad as applied to gray machines.
Key quotations
“We nevertheless find that a law that makes it unlawful to possess almost any kind of tool or machine and that allows the State to confiscate almost any personal property, regardless of its actual use, is overbroad and unconstitutional.” (449)
“We therefore reverse the district court and hold that K.S.A.2010 Supp. 74-8702(g), defining gray machines, in combination with its enforcement provisions, K.S.A.2010 Supp. 74-8750(d) and K.S.A.2010 Supp. 74-8761, are unconstitutional as they relate to gray machines.” (449)
Factual background
The Kansas Expanded Lottery Act authorized certain gaming facilities, electronic gaming machines, and lottery games, and defined and prohibited gray machines. The plaintiffs owned or leased amusement game machines in Wyandotte County and challenged the statutory definition and enforcement provisions, although the pleadings did not disclose the precise nature of their machines. The statutes defined a gray machine broadly as a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device capable of being used for gambling and authorized confiscation and criminal penalties for covered machines.
Procedural history
The plaintiffs filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a determination that K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 74-8702 and 74-8761 were unconstitutional and seeking injunctive relief against enforcement. The district court granted the State's motion for summary judgment, concluding that the statutes were not unconstitutionally vague. The Supreme Court of Kansas assumed jurisdiction over the appeal under K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 60-2102(b)(2) and reversed.