State v. Boese

Summary

The Kansas Supreme Court held that John C.T. Boese was convicted of violating a protection from stalking order even though the charging document alleged a violation of a protection from abuse order. Because the charging document sets the outer limits of permissible convictions, the court reversed the conviction and vacated the sentence.

Holdings

1. A charging document sets the outer limits of the conviction or convictions that may result; a defendant may not be convicted of a crime that was not charged.
2. The discrepancy between the charged protection from abuse order and the proved protection from stalking order was not an alternative-means issue.
3. Boese did not waive his challenge under K.S.A. 22-3208(4) because he was not asserting a defect in the charging document; he asserted that the proof and conviction did not correspond to the crime charged.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a defendant may be convicted of violating a protection from stalking order under K.S.A. 21-5924(a)(6) when the charging document exclusively charged violation of a protection from abuse order under K.S.A. 21-5924(a)(1).
2. Whether the discrepancy between the charged protection order and the order proved constituted an alternative-means issue subject to harmless-error review.
3. Whether the defendant waived the challenge under K.S.A. 22-3208(4) by consenting to trial on the complaint.

Disposition

reversed