Reporter searched what Kansas officials say were public records before newspaper raid
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Kansas newspaper controversy
A police raid Friday on a local newspaper in Marion, Kansas, sparked First Amendment concerns across the country.
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A Kansas reporter who searched for driver’s license information accessed data that the Kansas Department of Revenue says is open to the public.
The Marion Police Department alleged the reporter at the Marion County Record illegally obtained records; authorities said they raided the newspaper on Aug. 11 as a result. That set off a firestorm of international condemnation and concerns about the free press.
“As long as the requestor has the required information, this information is public record and available online,” said Zach Denney, a spokesman for the Kansas Department of Revenue, which administers driver’s licenses.
In a search warrant for the newspaper, Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody said his department was investigating reporter Phyllis Zorn for identity theft and unlawful acts concerning computers.
Publisher Eric Meyer said the reporter received the driving history of Kari Newell, a local businesswoman who lost her driver’s license over a DUI in 2008 and was applying for a liquor license for her restaurant. Zorn then went onto the Kansas Driver’s License Status Check website to verify the information she had received from a source. The site requires a person’s name, license number and date of birth, which had been provided.
The warrants were withdrawn Aug. 16 after the Marion County prosecutor concluded that “insufficient evidence” existed to establish a “legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”
The items seized by police were returned, but the Kansas Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate the case.
Attorney Bernie Rhodes, who represents the Record and has also litigated cases for The Star, said the newsroom raid was illegal and that the paper needs to be compensated for the First Amendment rights that were damaged.
The Marion City Council is scheduled to meet Monday evening, but said in an agenda that the body will not comment on the case.
This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 4:44 PM.
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