Kansas Paper Warns Police Not to Review Information on Seized Devices

A lawyer for The Marion County Record, a Kansas newspaper that was raided by the police late final week, demanded that the city’s Police Department not overview any data on the gadgets it seized till a courtroom listening to might be scheduled.

The lawyer, Bernard J. Rhodes, mentioned in a letter to Marion’s police chief, Gideon Cody, that he was providing the division “an opportunity to mitigate my client’s damages from the illegal searches.”

On Friday, the police and county sheriff’s deputies raided the newspaper’s workplace, the house of its proprietor and editor, and the house of a metropolis councilwoman. They collected computer systems, cellphones and different supplies. The searches had been a part of investigation into how a doc containing details about an area restaurateur discovered its approach to and was dealt with by The Record — and whether or not the restaurant proprietor’s privateness was violated within the course of.

A search warrant issued by a decide on Friday morning cited potential violations of legal guidelines involving id theft and the unlawful use of a pc.

Search and seizure of the instruments to provide journalism are uncommon, and the editor of the paper, Eric Meyer, mentioned that the newspaper did nothing flawed. First Amendment consultants, press freedom advocates and dozens of news organizations have condemned the raid. The Society of Professional Journalists mentioned on Monday that it will cowl as much as $20,000 in authorized charges for The Marion County Record.

Mr. Rhodes mentioned within the letter to the police chief that the gadgets seized contained data from and the identities of confidential sources, which was protected by federal and state legal guidelines. Mr. Rhodes demanded that the division not overview data on the gadgets till a courtroom listening to was scheduled.

“Your personal decision to treat the local newspaper as a drug cartel or a street gang offends the constitutional protections the founding fathers gave the free press,” Mr. Rhodes wrote within the letter, which was considered by The New York Times.

Mr. Rhodes additionally mentioned the newspaper’s use of the Kansas Department of Revenue’s web site to confirm a drunken-driving quotation for the native restaurateur was analysis and was allowed below the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The newspaper didn’t publish an article on the quotation.

“I can assure you that The Record will take every step to obtain relief for the damages your heavy-handed actions have already caused my client,” Mr. Rhodes wrote.

The letter was despatched to Marion’s chief of police on Sunday and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which aids legal justice businesses statewide, on Monday. Mr. Rhodes mentioned he had not gotten a response from both workplace.

The Marion Police Department didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Times.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation mentioned that as of Monday the bureau was the lead regulation enforcement company investigating the incidents in Marion County.

“As we transition, we will review prior steps taken and work to determine how best to proceed with the case,” she mentioned in an electronic mail. “Once our thorough investigation concludes, we will forward all investigative facts to the prosecutor for review. ”

Mr. Meyer, 69, an proprietor and the editor of The Marion County Record, mentioned in an electronic mail on Monday that his subsequent step was “to publish this week’s paper.”

“Right now, we can’t afford to look much beyond that as we are HORRIBLY behind and will probably need to pull an all-nighter tonight,” he mentioned. “Any steps beyond that are up to our attorney.”

Mr. Meyer mentioned he had obtained many gives of help within the days because the raid.

“A former county attorney here offered to buy us a couple of computers and drive them here from three hours away,” he mentioned. “We’ve had offers from truckers that they would transport donated equipment from basically anywhere in the country. But, truth be known, what we need most is time and access to little things we typically take for granted.”

Mr. Meyer’s 98-year-old mom, a co-owner of the paper with whom he has lived since returning to the city in recent times, died on Saturday, the day after the raid.