The Kansas Court of Appeals tore up a divorce property judgment on October 23, 2026, ruling that a lower court judge abused her discretion by refusing to reopen a case where the husband was physically present in the jail building attached to the courthouse. Scott L. Hale had been locked in a Wyandotte County cell during his final divorce hearing on November 1, 2024, and jail officers never transported him to the courtroom next door.
At that hearing, Judge Constance M. Alvey granted the divorce and awarded the marital home to Rachel Hale based solely on her lawyer’s submissions. Alvey noted Scott’s "failure to participate" and told Rachel, "Congratulations, and I'm sorry." Scott’s friend, Stephanie Belk, who held his power of attorney, sat in the gallery with his paperwork but was barred from speaking on his behalf.
Scott later hired a lawyer and filed a motion under K.S.A. 60-260(b) to overturn the judgment, arguing he had filed a written objection weeks before his arrest on October 9, 2024. At a June 2025 hearing on that motion, Scott was again absent from the courtroom despite being in the same complex. Alvey dismissed his lawyer’s request to have him brought in, jokingly saying, "I'm being facetious, sir." She questioned whether a jailed man had a right to attend a civil hearing.
In July 2025, Scott finally testified that he had asked jail staff twice on the morning of the November 2024 hearing to take him to court, assuming they would transport him as they did for his criminal cases. The district court still rejected his motion, claiming he hadn’t proven he took necessary steps to attend. The appeals panel disagreed, stating that Scott’s prior written objection and his attempts to be present meant the trial judge could not simply ignore his absence.
The case now returns to the Wyandotte County District Court. Judge Alvey must reconsider the division of real estate, debts, and assets, effectively wiping out the original ruling that gave Rachel sole ownership of the home.