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Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 60-445 (2026)

Discretion of judge to exclude admissible evidence

✓ current as of May 2026
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60-445. Discretion of judge to exclude admissible evidence. Except as in this article otherwise provided, the judge may in his or her discretion exclude evidence if he or she finds that its probative value is substantially outweighed by the risk that its admission will unfairly and harmfully surprise a party who has not had reasonable opportunity to anticipate that such evidence would be offered.

History: L. 1963, ch. 303, 60-445; January 1, 1964.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 291 cases (36 in the last 5 years), 1965–2026 · leading case: State v. Lee, 977 P.2d 263 (Kan. 1999).
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State v. Lee, 977 P.2d 263 (Kan. 1999). · cites it 30× “K.S.A. 60-445 is the evidentiary rule most similar to Fed.”
State v. Owens, 496 P.3d 902 (Kan. 2021). · cites it 8× “K.S.A. 60-445 authorizes the district court to exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the risk of unfair prejudice.”
State v. Prine, 303 P.3d 662 (Kan. 2013). · cites it 7× “60-455(d) reads in pertinent part: “(d) Except as provided in K.S.A. 60-445, and amendments thereto, in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of a sex offense under articles 34, 35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and amendments thereto,…”
State v. Richmond, 212 P.3d 165 (Kan. 2009). · cites it 5× “” Richmond now argues that the testimony was inadmissible because of K.S.A. 60-445, 60-447, and 60-455. The State generally responds that the evidence is not barred by K.”
State v. Robinson, 363 P.3d 875 (Kan. 2015). · cites it 4× “Specifically, he contends the trial court erred by: (1) admitting Cathy Norman's 249 testimony regarding contents of a writing discussing victim Sheila Faith's sexual proclivities; (2) admitting e-mails in violation of the best evidence and authentication rules; (3) admitting…”
State v. Miller, 427 P.3d 907 (Kan. 2018). · cites it 2× “Even if evidence is relevant, a trial court has discretion under K.S.A. 60-445 to exclude such evidence where the court finds its probative value is substantially outweighed by its potential for producing undue prejudice.”
State v. Miller, 163 P.3d 267 (Kan. 2007). · cites it 4× “The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has explained with regard to Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence (which has similar language to K.S.A. 60-445 and that used in Leitner, 272 Kan.”
State v. Gunby, 144 P.3d 647 (Kan. 2006). · cites it 2× “60-447 evidence that a person committed a crime or civil wrong on a specified occasion, is inadmissible to prove his or her disposition to commit crime or civil wrong as the basis for an inference that the person committed another crime or civil wrong on another specified…”
State v. Leitner, 34 P.3d 42 (Kan. 2001). · cites it 4× “after reviewing K.S.A. 60-445 the court has discretion to exclude certain evidence, and as far as my knowledge of the case .”
State v. Boysaw, 439 P.3d 909 (Kan. 2019). · cites it 2× “60-445, and amendments thereto, in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of a sex offense under articles 34, 35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto, evidence of the defendant's commission of another act or offense of sexual…”
State v. Thurber, 420 P.3d 389 (Kan. 2018). · cites it 2× “60-446, except that (a) evidence of specific instances of conduct other than evidence of conviction of a crime which tends to prove the trait to be bad shall be inadmissible, and (b) in a criminal action evidence of a trait of an accused's character as tending to prove guilt or…”
State v. Reid, 186 P.3d 713 (Kan. 2008). · cites it 2× “60-447 evidence that a person committed a crime or civil wrong on a specified occasion, is inadmissible to prove his or her disposition to commit crime or civil wrong as the basis for an inference that the person committed another crime or civil wrong on another specified…”
Show all 291 citing cases →
— K.S.A. § 60-445(c) — 1 case
State v. Prine, 303 P.3d 662 (Kan. 2013). “60-455(d) reads in pertinent part: “(d) Except as provided in K.S.A. 60-445, and amendments thereto, in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of a sex offense under articles 34, 35 or 36 of chapter 21 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated and amendments thereto,…”
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