State v. Lemmie, 462 P.3d 161

Background

April 26, 2016: Adonis Loudermilk was shot and killed in the Starlite Motel parking lot; Diantre ("Tre Mack") Lemmie was charged with first-degree felony murder and related offenses; Amber Craig was alleged coconspirator.
Prior to the killing the occupants of Room 120 used meth; a meth pipe went missing and witnesses described Craig and Lemmie as upset.
Faircloth (tattoo artist) testified he heard Lemmie say "I know you got it," then heard multiple gunshots; immediately after Craig reportedly said, "He killed him" and "I didn't think he would do it." Faircloth identified Lemmie at the scene and in a photo lineup.
Investigators recovered surveillance footage showing a tall dark figure near the SUV at the time of the shooting and a white pickup leaving the area; officers later stopped a white pickup, Lemmie fled but was arrested; police found a .22 rifle and victim's identification/cards at a house connected to the pickup; ballistics matched the rifle to the fatal bullet.
Police obtained search warrants for Facebook accounts and Lemmie's cell phones; after invoking Miranda and requesting counsel, Lemmie later gave detectives the phones' passcodes; Facebook messages from the "Tre Mack" account (introduced at trial) discussed getting a gun and going to the victim.
Jury convicted Lemmie on all counts (including life with 25-year minimum on murder). On appeal he challenged admission of passcode testimony, hearsay rulings, K.S.A. 60-455 evidence, sufficiency of evidence, judicial misconduct, and cumulative error; the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Lemmie)	Held
Admissibility of testimony that Lemmie gave phone passcodes (Fifth Amendment)	Testimony was not outcome-determinative; any constitutional error was harmless because no phone contents were introduced at trial	Disclosure of passcodes was testimonial and violated the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination	Any possible Fifth Amendment error was harmless; testimony about knowing the passcodes did not contribute to the verdict
Admission of Craig's out-of-court statements (hearsay)	Statements admissible as coconspirator statements under K.S.A. 60-460(i)(2) and as contemporaneous statements under K.S.A. 60-460(d)	Statements were beyond scope because conspiracy ended when shooting occurred; admission violated confrontation rights; judge committed misconduct by prompting a new theory	Court did not abuse discretion: statements admissible as coconspirator and contemporaneous; judge's question did not amount to prejudicial misconduct
Sufficiency of evidence for first-degree felony murder	Photo ID, Faircloth's identification, FB messages, surveillance, recovered gun and victim's items support conviction	Evidence insufficient to prove Lemmie committed the murder beyond a reasonable doubt	Viewing evidence in State's favor, record amply supports conviction; sufficiency challenge rejected
Admission of evidence about missing meth pipe (K.S.A. 60-455) & cumulative error claim	Evidence was relevant to motive/identification; probative value outweighed prejudice; any errors were not cumulative	Evidence irrelevant and unduly prejudicial; cumulative errors deprived him of a fair trial	Trial court did not abuse discretion in admitting meth-pipe testimony (motive); limiting instruction given; cumulative error doctrine does not warrant reversal

Key Cases Cited

State v. Carapezza, 286 Kan. 992 (2008) (standard of review for Fifth Amendment suppression rulings)
State v. Ward, 292 Kan. 541 (2011) (harmless-error standard for constitutional errors)
State v. Salary, 301 Kan. 586 (2015) (application of Ward harmlessness test)
State v. Lyman, 311 Kan. 1 (2020) (appellate review and prejudice standard for judicial misconduct claims)
State v. Summers, 293 Kan. 819 (2012) (abuse-of-discretion review of hearsay exception admissions)
State v. Moore, 302 Kan. 685 (2015) (definition of abuse of discretion)
State v. Sharp, 289 Kan. 72 (2009) (coconspirator statement principles)
State v. Harris, 310 Kan. 1026 (2019) (standard for appellate sufficiency review)
State v. Gunby, 282 Kan. 39 (2006) (three-part test for admitting other-crimes evidence under K.S.A. 60-455)
State v. Haygood, 308 Kan. 1387 (2018) (articulation of Gunby test and limiting-instruction requirement)
State v. Carter, 284 Kan. 312 (2007) (cumulative-error doctrine cannot rely on a single nonreversible error)
State v. Bollinger, 302 Kan. 309 (2015) (cumulative-error doctrine in absence of any error)