New Kansas law that makes court cases secret raises First Amendment concerns

By: Grace Hills

Outlets: Kansas Reflector

Published: February 5, 2026

Words: 1,025

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 1 day ago

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TOPEKA — A new Kansas law withheld information from the public in a recent Linn County criminal case, raising concerns about the balance between safely executing an arrest warrant and the First Amendment.

Before Senate Bill 204 took effect in July, cases including arrest warrants — which have the name of the offender, a list of criminal charges and name of the victim — were public record through the state’s online court …

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