News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is asking the Kansas Supreme Court to expedite the release of state prisoners at risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19.

The ACLU alleges in a federal lawsuit that Highland Community College instituted a plan six months ago to reduce the number of black students. It contends the college’s strategy included expelling black students for minor or bogus infractions and singling them out for searches and harassment.

The American Civil Liberties Union expanded Tuesday a First Amendment lawsuit filed in federal court against a former Kansas Corporation Commission attorney to include the three current members and one former member of the state commission regulating the state’s energy and utility industries.

Lauren Bonds, legal director for ACLU of Kansas, said the findings confirm the organization’s motivation for filing a lawsuit on Oct. 26, 2018, days before the Nov. 6 election. The new polling location, Bonds said, was “incredibly inconvenient.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the Kansas chapter of GLSEN also denounced the drafted legislation.

“Refusing consent to search is not a basis for a drug dog search,” she said. “It’s not a reason a cop can call for a drug dog.”

The ACLU of Kansas praised the state for taking steps to support the incarcerated who are elderly and infirm. But the organization emphasized that Kansas already has procedures in place, called “compassionate clemency,” to release inmates who would be housed in the proposed beds.

“This practice is unconstitutional on many levels.”

“Some reaction obviously is appropriate if there’s a disruption of session,” said Lauren Bonds, legal director for ACLU of Kansas. “We’re not saying that it’s not appropriate for highway patrol or security or Tom Day to intervene.”