On February 19, 2015, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered Judge B. Kay Huff to respond to the Lawrence Journal-World’s petition in mandamus by March 23, 2015.
Archive | News
AG’s open records enforcement bill virtually unopposed
Supporters of HB 206, which would provide for alternative dispute resolution-style negotiations upon findings of violation by the Attorney General’s office as well as more specific enforcement powers for violations of KORA and KOMA, testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 18, 2015. Read the Topeka Capital-Journal’s coverage here.
Heavily redacted response shows shortcomings in Kansas open records law
A request under the Kansas Open Records Act by the Topeka Capital-Journal to Kansas State University resulted in heavily redacted documents. Read the story here.
Proposed law in Kansas would strip professors of titles in opinion articles
A recently-introduced bill would prohibit members of academia from “providing or using such employee’s official title when authoring or contributing to a newspaper column….when the opinion of the employee concerns a person who currently holds any elected public office in this state, a person who is a candidate for any elected public office in this […]
Lawmakers propose tightening open records laws
In light of the governor’s comments that he “mostly uses his private cellphone,” Kansas Democrats have proposed a modification to the Kansas Open Records Act that would make such communications open to the public. Read the Journal-World’s account here.
Kansas bill would protect public comments from civil lawsuits
On January 29, 2015, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the anti-SLAPP bill proposed by Rep. Jan Pauls (R). Read the Journal-World’s account here.
Journal-World appeals ruling that sealed affidavits in KU sexual assault cases
In response to Judge Kay Huff’s ruling on December 19, 2014, denying the Lawrence Journal-World’s motion to unseal, the newspaper filed a petition for mandamus review at the Kansas Supreme Court. Read the story here.
Hashinger Hall rape case dismissed; judge rules affidavits will remain sealed
When the Lawrence Journal-World’s request for affidavits was denied in these matters in October, it filed a motion to unseal the affidavits. Judge Kay Huff denied the motions to unseal, stating that the issue was moot because the case had been dismissed. Read the story here.
Prosecutor: No criminal charges warranted in case of woman who died in jail
Renowned investigative journalist Karen Dillon reports on the struggle to release autopsy records that should have been public in the first place. Read the story here.
Douglas County judge orders affidavit redacted, released
In a rape case in Douglas County, a judge reconsidered her earlier decision sealing the probable cause affidavit and ordered a redacted version be released after hearing arguments from the Lawrence Journal-World. Read the story here.