State v. Keel, 302 Kan. 560

Police executed a search warrant at Keel's residence (May 14, 2010) and found methamphetamine and pipes/bongs in areas accessible within the house, including a hidden room where Keel was found.
Keel was convicted by a jury of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia; Wulf (girlfriend) provided conflicting statements about ownership.
At sentencing, Keel had two January 1993 Kansas convictions (attempted aggravated robbery and aggravated robbery) listed as person felonies, producing a criminal history score of B; Keel did not object at sentencing.
Keel appealed on insufficiency of evidence and challenged a jury instruction defining paraphernalia; Court of Appeals affirmed and this Court granted review.
After review was granted, Keel moved to correct an illegal sentence, arguing his pre-KSGA (pre-July 1, 1993) Kansas convictions must be scored as nonperson felonies under State v. Murdock; the legislature then enacted HB 2053 (2015) amending scoring rules and stating retroactivity, and the Court ordered supplemental briefing.

Issue	Keel's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for constructive possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia	State failed to link Keel to items in a shared residence; presence and proximity insufficient	Items were in Keel’s hidden room/nearby desk, residue on pipe, suspicious hiding behavior, and jurors could reject Wulf’s trial testimony	Affirmed: evidence (circumstantial + proximity + behavior + credibility choice) was sufficient
Jury instruction defining drug paraphernalia (pipes and bongs)	Instruction improperly compelled a finding that pipes/bongs are paraphernalia and invaded jury function	Instruction tracked statute; read with other instructions requiring use/intended use, it properly informed jury	Affirmed: no clear error; instructions read together correctly stated law
Classification of pre-KSGA in-state prior convictions as person or nonperson for criminal-history scoring	Murdock (as interpreted) requires treating pre-1993 convictions as nonperson; thus Keel’s 1993 convictions should be nonperson reducing his score	Prior pre-KSGA convictions should be classified by comparing to the comparable Kansas statute as it existed when the current crime was committed	Affirmed district court: overruled Williams and Murdock; adopted Vandervort rule — classify prior convictions by the person/nonperson designation of the comparable Kansas offense as of the date the current crime was committed; Keel’s 1993 convictions properly scored as person felonies

State v. Murdock, 299 Kan. 312 (Kansas 2014) (majority held pre-1993 out-of-state convictions scored as nonperson under interpretation of KSGA)
State v. Williams, 291 Kan. 554 (Kansas 2010) (held prior out-of-state convictions classified by designation in effect when the prior crimes were committed; later overruled)
State v. Vandervort, 276 Kan. 164 (Kansas 2003) (classification of prior conviction based on comparable Kansas statute as of the time the current crime was committed)
State v. Dickey, 301 Kan. 1018 (Kansas 2015) (a defendant may challenge the legal effect of prior convictions on appeal despite stipulation/failure to object at sentencing)
State v. Sylva, 248 Kan. 118 (Kansas 1991) (penalty parameters are fixed as of the date the offense was committed)
State v. Sisson, 302 Kan. 123 (Kansas 2015) (instructions must be read as a whole; single phrase not reversible when overall instructions state law correctly)
State v. Prine, 297 Kan. 460 (Kansas 2013) (addressed retroactivity and legislative amendments to evidentiary rule; example of court deferring to and applying subsequent legislative change)