Current:Home > FinanceFederal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic-LoTradeCoin
Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic
View Date:2024-12-24 00:20:17
The Kansas Highway Patrol must stop using a tactic known as the “Kansas Two-Step” to detain out-of-state drivers long enough to find a reason to search their vehicles for illegal drugs, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil on Monday granted a permanent injunction. The injunction was not unexpected. It follows Vratil’s ruling in July that determined that the tactic violated drivers’ constitutional rights against unreasonable searches.
KHP spokeswoman Candice Breshears said the order is being reviewed by the state attorney general’s office and declined further comment. A message left Tuesday with the office of Attorney General Kris Kobach was not immediately returned.
The injunction has several requirements, including cameras and audio for all marked and unmarked patrol cars. It also says troopers must inform drivers that they can refuse or revoke consent for a search at any time. The injunction also requires better training and documentation.
With the “Two-Step,” troopers finish the initial traffic stop, issuing a ticket or a warning, and start to walk away, then turn back to talk more to the driver. That allows them to keep looking for grounds for a vehicle search or to buy time for drug-sniffing dogs to arrive.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of three drivers and two passengers traveling in 2017, 2018 and 2019 from neighboring Colorado, which has legalized recreational marijuana use. The judge concluded that the patrol targeted drivers traveling along Interstate 70 to or from states that have legalized either the medical or recreational use of marijuana. Kansas has authorized neither.
“The Kansas Highway Patrol is not above the law,” Sharon Brett, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas, said in a statement Tuesday. “While KHP made various attempts to side-step accountability for its practices and put off this injunction, the Constitution has prevailed.”
The patrol previously defended its tactics as a response to I-70 serving as a major “corridor” for drug traffickers. But Vratil said in the July ruling that the patrol “waged war on motorists.”
“The war is basically a question of numbers: stop enough cars, and you’re bound to discover drugs. And what’s the harm if a few constitutional rights are trampled along the way?” she wrote.
Questions about the patrol’s tactics became more visible after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana almost a decade ago. Missouri did the same in 2022, and Oklahoma allows the medical use of marijuana. Only a handful of states don’t allow at least medical use.
veryGood! (552)
Related
- How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
- Jelly Roll completes 5K after 70-pound weight loss: 'Really emotional'
- Cruise ship sails into New York City port with 44-foot dead whale across its bow
- Union push pits the United Farm Workers against a major California agricultural business
- Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
- How Jewish and Arab students at one of Israel's few mixed schools prepare for peace, by simply listening
- Country star Cindy Walker posthumously inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Defense attacks Stormy Daniels’ credibility as she returns to the stand in Trump’s hush money trial
- Fate of Netflix Series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Revealed
- Harvey Weinstein is back in NYC court after a hospital stay
Ranking
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
- Israel tank unit takes control of Gaza side of Rafah border crossing as Netanyahu rejects cease-fire proposal
- What is a tornado emergency and how is it different from a warning or a watch?
- Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima inducted into World Video Game Hall of Fame
- How Jersey Shore's Sammi Sweetheart Giancola's Fiancé Justin May Supports Her on IVF Journey
- New York City’s watchdog agency launches probe after complaints about the NYPD’s social media use
- Ohio attorney general warns student protesters in masks could face felony charges under anti-KKK law
- It’s getting harder to avoid commercials: Amazon joins other streamers with 'pause ads'
Recommendation
-
US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
-
A woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend was framed, her attorneys say
-
Oklahoma City Thunder top Dallas Mavericks in Game 1, make NBA history in process
-
Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima inducted into World Video Game Hall of Fame
-
Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging ‘Real Housewives’ creators abused a cast member
-
Michigan man accused of making explosives to target Satanic Temple in Massachusetts
-
Serve up Style With These Pickleball-Inspired Fashions From Target, Lululemon, Halara, Spanx & More
-
Louisiana lawmakers reject adding exceptions of rape and incest to abortion ban