Kansas court reporter’s state certification revoked amid allegations of blackmail and abuse • Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A former Wyandotte County court clerk has been sanctioned by the Kansas Supreme Court for failing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations that she tried to extort $2,000 from an ex-boyfriend in a blackmail case.

The justices followed a recommendation by the State Board of Examiners of Court Reporters to strip Jessica Belcher of her certification to practice as a court reporter in Kansas. She became a certified court reporter in Kansas in 2003, but in 2019, two formal complaints were filed against her.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court questioned whether it was appropriate to try ethics cases against court reporters based on allegations of a criminal offense rather than following a conviction.

Attorney Todd Thompson, who participated in Belcher’s investigation, said evidence showed she tried to blackmail an ex-boyfriend, who was a police officer, demanding $2,000 or she would “rattle him to everyone” on Facebook, the judges said.

Thompson introduced a series of texts Belcher had sent to the anonymous person: “You can make this as hard as you want, but please know that I will expose you if I don’t get the money. I have pictures, emails, everything. If you want me to keep my mouth shut, pay up.”

In another incident in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Thompson said evidence showed Belcher verbally and physically assaulted individuals at a shelter.

He informed the judges that Belcher refused to cooperate with the disciplinary board investigators. Belcher did call his office several times, he said.

“She was very abusive, as the facts of these cases show,” Thompson said.

Belcher did not appear and did not have an attorney representing her at the September 2023 oral hearing in her case before the Supreme Court in Topeka. She did not file a response to the disciplinary complaints against her.

“Her complete absence from participation in any part of this disciplinary proceeding constitutes clear and convincing evidence of a violation,” the Supreme Court ruling said.

Although the state Supreme Court affirmed that Belcher violated the rules by failing to cooperate with the ethics review, the justices took no action on the alleged crimes or violations. The Supreme Court’s ruling said that Belcher “appears” to have committed offenses of intimidation by means of telecommunications equipment, blackmail, and, if it had occurred in Kansas, assault or battery.

Regarding due process concerns, some Supreme Court members argue in the opinion that the only way to establish a criminal allegation is through a judicial process that ends with a conviction.

“Disciplinary proceedings based solely on allegations that a clerk committed a crime, without a subsequent conviction, must be careful not to presume guilt,” the ruling said. “Since resolving this issue would not change the discipline here, we will not address this issue and will leave it unresolved for the time being.”