Federal judge considers $1M in fines for prison medical provider’s ‘intractable failures’

In late December, federal Magistrate Judge David Duncan waved an iPad in front of his Phoenix courtroom, enraged. He had just read a local news article suggesting that the Arizona Department of Corrections and its for-profit medical provider Corizon Health were gaming a system put in place to ensure adequate…

Feb 27, 2018 1:55 PM CST

Teens too young to vote jump into Kansas governor race; bill would increase minimum age

State lawmakers in Kansas are reacting to the entry of six teenagers who are too young to vote but have entered the state's gubernatorial race.

Feb 12, 2018 12:30 PM CST

Suspect faces charge in ‘swatting’ death; ex-solicitor general says laws must catch up to behavior

The Los Angeles Police Department was already investigating a series of hoaxes by a man implicated in a so-called swatting incident that led to the December shooting death of a man by police nearly 1,400 miles away in Wichita, Kansas, the Los Angeles Times reports. Detectives investigated Tyler Barriss’ possible…

Jan 4, 2018 1:09 PM CST

Relatives of undocumented children caught up in ICE dragnet

This summer, a Kansas City man named Edwin got a call from immigration officials. They had picked up his nephew at the southern border and wanted to release the teen into his care. So Edwin went online and bought a bed. Later that week, he was contacted again, this time…

Sep 12, 2017 3:45 PM CDT

Letters: Dissecting Fake News

Sep 1, 2017 12:55 AM CDT

Can a general conquer the federal prison system?

The federal Bureau of Prisons faces a sea of troubles: Escalating medical costs, a prison population with little access to job training programs or computers, an institutional culture averse to change. In steps Mark S. Inch, the retired two-star general selected by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month to run…

Aug 23, 2017 3:00 PM CDT

Ex-con and Yale Law grad must prove ‘good moral character’ before being able to practice

A former convict who has graduated from Yale Law School and is an acclaimed author and poet now must prove his “good moral character” to Connecticut officials before he can practice law, The Associated Press reports. Reginald Dwayne Betts, 36, passed the state bar exam in February but now must,…

Aug 9, 2017 9:51 AM CDT

Letters: Cert and corrections in the high court

Aug 1, 2017 12:20 AM CDT

Federal prosecutor admits she listened to recordings of attorney-client conversations, filing says

A federal prosecutor is no longer employed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas City, Kansas, after admitting to her supervisor that she had listened to recorded attorney-client conversations, according to court documents. The special assistant prosecutor, Erin Tomasic, admitted that she had listened to multiple recorded conversations between a…

Jun 29, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Federal judge orders special master to investigate federal prosecutors after hard drive is erased

A federal judge in Kansas has ordered a special master to investigate federal prosecutors in Kansas in an expanding probe into how officials obtained and used recordings of lawyers meeting and speaking with their prisoner clients. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ordered a special master who is already investigating the…

May 18, 2017 1:03 PM CDT

Not one Kansas state senator is a lawyer, making compliance with obscure statute impossible

An obscure Kansas statute requires at least one lawyer from the state senate to participate in a committee that handles some claims against the state. Compliance is impossible, however. For the first time ever, the 40-member Kansas Senate has no lawyers, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Last year…

Jan 12, 2017 7:00 AM CST

In five years, DA raises $1M for his office via diversion programs

A district attorney in Alabama has used diversion programs to consolidate his power and raise $1 million for his office over a five-year span, a newspaper investigation has found. The DA for Alabama’s Houston and Henry Counties, Douglas Valeska, “has proved exceedingly adept at using diversion,” the New York Times…

Dec 13, 2016 11:32 AM CST

Kansas attorney general apologizes for Dred Scott citation in abortion brief

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is apologizing for a brief citing the Dred Scott decision in defense of the state’s abortion law. Schmidt withdrew the brief Wednesday, the Wichita Eagle and the Huffington Post report. “Neither the state nor its attorneys believe or were arguing that Dred Scott was correctly…

Oct 20, 2016 8:01 AM CDT

Kansas brief cites Dred Scott decision in defending abortion law

Updated: A brief defending a Kansas abortion law cites the infamous Dred Scott decision to bolster its argument that the state constitution does not include a right to an abortion. Slate and Above the Law have stories on the argument, advanced by Kansas Solicitor General Stephen McAllister in support of…

Oct 19, 2016 1:11 PM CDT

States can’t require proof of citizenship for federal elections, DC Circuit rules

State laws that require voters to show proof of citizenship for federal elections were blocked Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Georgia, Alabama and Kansas had the laws, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The lawsuit was filed after Brian Newby, executive director of the…

Sep 13, 2016 9:42 AM CDT