City of Junction City v. Mevis

601 P.2d 1145, 226 Kan. 526, 1979 Kan. LEXIS 350
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedOctober 27, 1979
Docket50,797
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 601 P.2d 1145 (City of Junction City v. Mevis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Junction City v. Mevis, 601 P.2d 1145, 226 Kan. 526, 1979 Kan. LEXIS 350 (kan 1979).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Prager, J.:

This is a criminal proceeding brought by the city of Junction City against the defendant, Voyne D. Mevis, for an alleged violation of Junction City Ordinance 12-410 (d), which deals with the unlawful use of weapons. The defendant was found guilty in municipal court of Junction City and appealed to the district court. There the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that the ordinance was unconstitutional. The district court sustained the defendant’s motion, found the city ordinance unconstitutional, and dismissed the complaint. The city has appealed to this court.

There was no evidence presented in district court either by the city or by the defendant. For the purposes of his motion to dismiss, the defendant admitted the following facts: His automobile was stopped by the Junction City police on November 10, 1978; defendant exited the vehicle at the request of the police *527 officer; a search of the vehicle disclosed the pistol described in the complaint on the floor under the front seat; the defendant was alone in the automobile at the time it was stopped; and both the automobile and pistol were owned by the defendant. In his motion to dismiss, the defendant challenged the constitutionality of ordinance 12-410 on the basis that it deprived him of due process of law, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Sections 1 and 2 of the Kansas Bill of Rights. The trial court, in sustaining the defendant’s motion to dismiss, made the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

“1. Junction City Ordinance No. 12-410(d) proscribes the carrying of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm on the person or in any land, water or air vehicle, except when on his land or in his abode, fixed place of business or in his office;
“2. That in the reading of that proscription, there is a clear and definite meaning as to what is outlawed by the terms of that ordinance;
“3. That other ordinances of the City of Junction City, Kansas, allow for the sale and purchase of certain weapons which this ordinance prohibits persons from transporting or carrying;
“4. That in an analysis of the general police powers of the City, the law allows the City to legislate in this area, but:
“(a) The prohibition in 12-410(d) is so general in scope that it prohibits certain acts that cannot be reasonably classified as unlawful;
“(b) that the general nature of the ordinance includes and makes unlawful activities in which the police power cannot operate;
“(c) that the ordinance severely limits the actions of dealers and purchasers of weapons, which are legal by themselves;
“(d) that Ordinance 12-410(d) provides no way to transport a weapon to and from a place of business;
“5. Although the City may have a valid purpose in legislation dealing with the control of weapons, it cannot achieve this goal when its legislation is so broad as to invade legal activities or protected freedoms;
“6. That the ordinance is so broad that it is an infringement upon lawful activities;
“7. With respect to the issue of waiver raised by the plaintiff, the Court finds that, although stipulated by the parties that this constitutional attack was not raised by the defendant in the Municipal Court, the Court finds that since the Municipal Court is not a court of record, and since this is a constitutional issue going directly to the essence of the Ordinance, this matter is properly presented to the District Court since this is a “de novo” hearing on appeal and has not been waived by the defendant;
“8. With respect to the issue of standing raised by the plaintiff, the Court finds that the Court simply need look to the Ordinance itself, and not place a different construction on the Ordinance, and overbreadth is such an issue that this defendant may raise.”

*528 On appeal, the city*contends that the district court erred (1) in holding Ordinance 12-410(d) was unconstitutionally overbroad; (2) in ruling that the defendant had not waived the defense of unconstitutionality by failing to assert that defense in the original proceeding in the municipal court; and (3) in ruling that the defendant had standing to attack the ordinance on constitutional grounds.

We shall first consider the contention by the city that the defendant waived his right to attack the constitutionality of the ordinance because he failed to raise that issue initially in the municipal court. It is well-settled law in this state that a constitutional challenge to a statute or city ordinance should be raised at the earliest possible opportunity or is considered to be waived. Willoughby v. Willoughby, 178 Kan. 62, 283 P.2d 428 (1955). Although we recognize that the defendant might well have raised the constitutional question in municipal court, we have concluded that his failure to do so here should not be fatal. His appeal to the district court was as a matter of right under K.S.A. 12-4601. In district court, the defendant was entitled to a trial de novo where he had the right to raise any defense to the charge. The situation is entirely different than in those cases where the constitutional question was never raised in the trial court but was first presented at the appellate level. We hold that the defendant did not waive his right to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance by failing to assert that defense in municipal court.

The city contends that the defendant lacked standing to challenge the city ordinance as unconstitutionally overbroad, because his argument of unconstitutionality applies to other persons and he has made no showing that he falls into that category of persons whose rights are adversely affected by the ordinance. In support of its position, the city cites United States v. Raines, 362 U.S. 17, 4 L.Ed.2d 524, 80 S.Ct. 519 (1960); City of Junction City v. White, 2 Kan. App. 2d 403, 580 P.2d 891 (1978); and State v. Thompson, 221 Kan. 165, 558 P.2d 1079 (1976). Here the defendant was convicted in municipal court of violating the ordinance and sentenced to a term in the county jail and a fine of $1,000. His constitutional attack on the statute was on the basis that the city ordinance is void on its face without consideration of the factual circumstances involved in the case. Defendant’s position is that the ordinance, by its language, is unconstitutional on its face *529 because it is so broad in its application as to be beyond the legitimate exercise of the police power.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
601 P.2d 1145, 226 Kan. 526, 1979 Kan. LEXIS 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-junction-city-v-mevis-kan-1979.