City of Wichita v. Grasty


No. 123,309 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS CITY OF WICHITA, Appellee, v. GELI GRASTY, Appellant. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. The seven-day clock to request a jury trial in municipal court appeals begins when a judge is appointed to preside over the case at trial. 2. If an offense carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail or less, it is presumed that the defendant has no constitutional right to a jury trial. Appeal from Sedgwick District Court; SETH L. RUNDLE, judge. Opinion filed October 22, 2021. Affirmed. Kevin J. Zolotor and Christopher S. O'Hara, of O'Hara & O'Hara LLC, of Wichita, for appellant. Jan Jarman, assistant city attorney, and Jennifer Magana, city attorney, for appellee. Before ARNOLD-BURGER, C.J., SCHROEDER, J., and WALKER, S.J. ARNOLD-BURGER, C.J.: Police arrested Geli Grasty for offering to sell sexual services during a massage. A municipal judge convicted Grasty, and she appealed to the 1 district court. Once she filed her appeal, the case was assigned to the district judge who would preside over her trial. Grasty had seven days to file a request for a jury trial from the date of the assignment. Her request for a jury trial was filed well outside the seven- day limit. The district court denied her request for a jury trial and Grasty was ultimately convicted by the judge at a bench trial. She timely appeals her conviction, arguing that the district court erred by denying her request for a jury trial and by finding her guilty. Finding no error, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Steven Molde, a detective for the Wichita Police Department, went to Amazing Massage, a massage parlor in Wichita, Kansas, as part of an investigation into illegal sexual activity. Equipped with a wireless microphone that the other detectives listened to in real time, Molde posed as a customer. Molde arrived at the business, rang the doorbell, and waited until Grasty opened the door. Grasty asked Molde if he wanted a massage, and he said he wanted a 30-minute massage. Grasty informed Molde that a 30-minute massage would cost $40, which he paid. Grasty left the room and Molde took his clothes off and put a towel around his midsection. Molde then laid face-down on the massage table and Grasty returned to the room. Grasty began to massage Molde's back and arms and eventually removed Molde's towel. After removing the towel, Grasty massaged Molde's buttocks and placed "her hand between [his] buttocks." During the massage, Molde engaged in some small talk with Grasty. Molde thought Grasty understood what he was saying for the most part. After the 30-minute massage was over, Molde stood up and Grasty asked if there was anything else he wanted. Grasty "held her hand up like five and one" and Molde asked if she meant $60. Then he asked what he could get for $60 and "in a slang term 2 [Molde] asked for a hand job and gestured with [his] right hand." After …

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