Kansas Newspaper’s Lawyer Requests Police to Wait for Hearing Before Reviewing Seized Data

A recent police raid at The Marion County Record, a newspaper in Kansas, has raised concerns among advocates of the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and the press. The Kansas newspaper’s lawyer, Bernard J. Rhodes, sent a letter to Marion’s police chief, Gideon Cody, requesting that the Police Department refrain from reviewing any information extracted from the devices seized during the raid until a court hearing could be scheduled.

The Kansas newspaper’s lawyer demanded that the police refrain from reviewing this information until a court hearing was scheduled. (Photo: USNN)

Kansas Newspaper’s Lawyer Requests Police to Wait for Hearing

Kansas newspaper’s lawyer Rhodes, in his letter to the police chief, contended that the seized devices contained information from confidential sources, protected by both federal and state laws, New York Times reported.

The Kansas newspaper’s lawyer demanded that the police refrain from reviewing this information until a court hearing was scheduled.

Kansas newspaper’s lawyer Rhodes emphasized that this action would help mitigate potential damages resulting from the unlawful searches.

The raid, which took place last week, involved the police and county sheriff’s deputies searching the newspaper’s office, the home of its owner and editor, and the residence of a city councilwoman. They confiscated computers, cellphones, and other materials as part of an investigation into the handling of a document related to a local restaurateur by The Record.

The Society of Professional Journalists announced its intention to cover legal fees of up to $20,000 for The Marion County Record, underscoring the importance of protecting journalistic integrity.

READ ALSO: Kansas Newsroom Raid Deemed Unconstitutional by Several Press Freedom Advocates 

Kansas Newspaper’s Lawyer Expressed Dissatisfaction

The Kansas newspaper’s lawyer expressed dissatisfaction with the police treating the local newspaper as a criminal entity, emphasizing that such actions contradicted the constitutional protections afforded to the free press by the Founding Fathers.

The editor also clarified that the newspaper’s use of the Kansas Department of Revenue’s website to verify a drunken-driving citation for the local restaurateur constituted legal research within the boundaries of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.

Notably, the newspaper did not publish an article concerning the citation.

While the Marion Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to these developments, the bureau, as of Monday, was leading the law enforcement inquiry in Marion County. A spokeswoman noted that the investigation’s thoroughness would be followed by a review by the prosecutor.

READ ALSO: Police Raided a Newspaper After Reporters Began Investigating the Alleged Misconduct of a Local Business Owner and Police Chief