Appeal No. 123,005: State of Kansas v. Edroy D. Taylor Jr.
Appeal No. 123,005 archived oral argument
After Taylor pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery of a vehicle, the Shawnee County District Court ordered him to pay nearly $2,000 in restitution, payable in monthly installments of $15 while he serves a 100-month prison sentence. Taylor appealed, arguing the payment plan was unworkable because no evidence showed he could make the $15 monthly payments while in prison. A panel of the Court of Appeals upheld the restitution plan. In a 4-3 decision written by Justice K.J. Wall, the Supreme Court affirmed the panel's decision. The court held that Taylor had not met his burden under Kansas law of showing the restitution plan was unworkable because he had failed to present any evidence about his ability to make the monthly restitution payments. Justice Melissa Standridge filed a dissenting opinion, which Justices Eric Rosen and Evelyn Wilson joined. Justice Standridge would have held that the district court abused its discretion because no reasonable person would have found the restitution plan workable given the facts of the case.
