Daily Herald opinion: Violation of press freedom at rural Kansas newspaper represents broader threat everywhere
This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.
The Marion County Record in tiny Marion, Kansas, apparently has its computers and cellphones back after only a few contentious days in police custody, but the free-press shock waves their seizure produced will likely still be reverberating for a long time to come.
As well they should.
The 4,000-circulation newspaper found itself at the center of a battle over freedom of the press on Friday when the Marion police chief, apparently goaded by a local businesswoman concerned about information the newspaper had obtained about her, got a search warrant citing an investigation into possible violation of privacy laws. An hour later, he raided the Record's offices, as well as the homes of its owner, semi-retired editor and a member of the Marion City Council.
The press plays a key watchdog role over government at all levels in America, and to protect that role, the Constitution and courts have given journalists wide latitude to decide what to investigate, how to investigate it and what to report. It is not free to break the law, of course, but failing evidence that it has broken some law, it is protected against interference from government or most actions that would require it to reveal sensitive sources of information.
The first of many troubling issues in the Marion case is that there was never evidence that a crime had been committed. Citing that problem, the Marion County state's attorney rescinded the warrant Wednesday, allowing the materials seized to be returned.
Compounding the outrages in the case, the paper had never published anything about the issue authorities said they were investigating. It had received a letter describing the 2008 drunken driving conviction of the businesswoman, Kari Newell, who was seeking a liquor license for her restaurant, and had verified the document on the state's records website online.
Newell claimed the newspaper shared the letter with a city councilwoman, violating her privacy. Without any evidence, the police chief sought and, astonishingly, a local judge approved the warrant that led to the raids on the newspaper and private residences.
It may be tempting to view these circumstances as the naive behaviors of small minds in a small town, but this story is much more important than that. It is a prime example of what happens when people of influence misuse forces of government without respect to the processes of law and thereby undermine rights without which our democracy cannot function effectively.
Unless such behavior is exposed and condemned, what happened in tiny Marion, Kansas, could happen in any city or suburb in America. It demonstrates not only a lack of understanding of the law but a chilling willingness to abuse law enforcement for self-serving purposes.
These are actions that cannot be ignored and whose lessons must be widely discussed and clearly understood.