State v. Nelson, 243 P.3d 343

Nelson was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder, burglary, and three counts of forgery arising from the assault on his stepfather, Swartz.
Nelson admitted striking Swartz with a baseball bat, leading to Swartz's death from head injuries.
The sequence involved a break-in at Swartz's home, forged checks drawn on Swartz's account, and later disposal of the bat and clothing.
Nelson presented a defense theory that Swartz invited him in and overpowered him, with Nelson claiming responsibility only after Swartz pulled him back into a fight.
Nelson's prior burglary/forgery convictions from 2000 were admitted at trial as prior-crimes evidence, allegedly to prove intent and identity.
Nelson received a hard 50 life sentence for the murder, with consecutive sentences for burglary and forgery.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Imperfect self-defense instruction	Nelson	Nelson	No imperfect self-defense instruction warranted
First-degree murder instructions and burden on intent	Nelson	Nelson	Instructs not impermissibly lessen burden; proper when viewed as whole
Admission of prior crimes evidence under 60-455	Nelson	Nelson	Claim not preserved; remanded/denied based on contemporaneous objection rule
Standard for aggravating circumstances for hard 50	Nelson	Nelson	Remand to determine aggravation under preponderance standard

State v. Ellmaker, 289 Kan. 1132 (2009) (upholds 54.01 inference not altering burden on premeditation)
State v. Moore, 287 Kan. 121 (2008) (instruction on lesser included offenses; standard for reviewing jury instructions)
State v. Spain, 263 Kan. 708 (1998) (preponderance standard for aggravating circumstances; Apprendi context)
State v. Jones, 283 Kan. 186 (2007) (reasonable doubt standard debate on aggravating factors)
State v. Gideon, 257 Kan. 591 (1995) (predecessor on standard for mitigating factors)
State v. Riojas, 288 Kan. 379 (2009) (contemporaneous objection requirement preserved evidentiary issues)