News & Commentary

Sharon Brett, legal director of the ACLU in Kansas, said the judge’s proposed remedies illustrated the federal court wouldn’t “tolerate the cowboy mentality of policing that subjects our citizens to conditions of humiliation, degradation, and, in some tragic cases, violence.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is urging a federal judge to impose a severe injunction against the Kansas Highway Patrol to block future violations of drivers’ constitutional rights. Under the rule, troopers would need to receive training and keep detailed records about traffic stops.

“If an injunction isn’t issued I think there’s a significant concern that the KHP will continue doing precisely the things that the court found to be unconstitutional,” Brett said.

Constant testing did nothing to reduce COVID transmission, but it was very effective at reducing everything else. From a few weeks into the pandemic through the end of 2022, each time one of us tested positive, staff would pack us off to the quarantine unit. We’d be locked in there with a bunch of other people who’d also tested positive, until we tested negative. No TV. No radio. No books. We had the option of making one 20-minute phone call each day, during the same 20-minute window when we had the option of taking a shower. 

When a mundane traffic stop was nearing its end, a state trooper would turn to leave. But after a couple of paces toward the squad car, the trooper would whirl around and go back to the window of the pulled-over driver, hoping to strike up a conversation and find enough reason to scour the car.

“This is a huge win — for our clients and for anyone else who travels on Kansas highways. We are gratified that the Court saw the ongoing harms of KHP’s unconstitutional practices and stepped in to stop the department’s widespread misconduct,” said Sharon Brett, Legal Director of the ACLU of Kansas.

Kansas trooper Brandon McMillan pulled Bosire over for driving seven miles per hour over the speed limit, according to court documents. What happened next is an example of a policing practice known as the Kansas “two step,” a tactic that a judge ruled unconstitutional this week.

The Kansas Highway Patrol has been ordered to stop its infamous “two-step” technique by a federal judge, in what the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas calls a “huge win” for all motorists using state highways.

This is a tough thread to write. Federal public defense is facing devastating budget cuts for FY 2024, following House and Senate appropriation marks. If unchanged, we will be seriously underfunded. Nationally, this could mean losing 10 to 12% of on-board staff. 1/10