News & Commentary

The ACLU urged the [St. Marys city] commissioners to drop their attempts at censoring the library in a letter sent to the commissioners Thursday, saying banning the proposed materials violated freedom of expression rights.

The forum, Correcting Injustice: How Clemency Serves Justice and Strengthens Communities, evaluates ongoing work to reduce mass incarceration, how clemency has been used in the past by governors and presidents, what the impact of re-entry has been on people and communities, and how it should be used

TOPEKA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas has advised St. Marys city commissioners to renew the imperiled lease of their local public library, saying the officials are violating the Constitution in a “dangerous exercise of power.”

The City of Wichita has paid a private law firm more than $150,000 in legal fees to defend itself from litigation over the police department’s use of a gang list.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas says it has called on the St. Marys City Commission to continue to fund the Pottawatomie-Wabaunsee Regional Library headquarters and abandon a proposed ban on certain materials.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas issued a statement in support of the library Wednesday, urging that the library continue to be funded and that the commission abandon the ban of these materials. The ACLU condemned the actions of the commission and said it will monitor the situation.

“As you see Kansas become one of the last remaining states in the region where no marijuana, medical or recreational, there’s a significant concern that the Kansas Highway Patrol will continue to focus its traffic enforcement efforts on out-of-state vehicles," Sharon Brett says.

“And the St. Mary’s commission’s insistence on banning items containing content they don’t like could have constitutional implications when it comes to library patrons’ rights to free expression and the right to receive information.”

Kansas officials are warning voters to be wary of text messages directing them to incorrect polling places on Election Day.