Current:Home > Contact-usFederal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic-LoTradeCoin
Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic
View Date:2024-12-23 18:53:56
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! (79)
Related
- 'I know how to do math': New Red Lobster CEO says endless shrimp deal is not coming back
- Angry birds have been swarming drones looking for sharks and struggling swimmers off NYC beaches
- RHOA Alum NeNe Leakes Addresses Kenya Moore's Controversial Exit
- After massive AT&T data breach, can users do anything?
- 'Yellowstone' premiere: Record ratings, Rip's ride and Billy Klapper's tribute
- 2024 MLB mock draft: Latest projections for every Round 1 pick
- Cover star. All-Star. Superstar. A'ja Wilson needs to be an even bigger household name.
- Madewell's Big End of Season Sale Is Here, Save up to 70% & Score Styles as Low as $11
- Mother of Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym Details His Final Moments
- Alix Earle's Sister Ashtin Earle Addresses PDA Photos With DJ John Summit
Ranking
- COINIXIAI Introduce
- Chicago exhibition center modifying windows to prevent bird strikes after massive kill last year
- Euphoria Season 3 Finally Has a Start Date
- Inside Jennifer Garner’s Parenthood Journey, in Her Own Words
- Olivia Munn Says She “Barely Knew” John Mulaney When She Got Pregnant With Their Son
- Missouri execution plans move forward despite prosecutor trying to overturn murder conviction
- Prince Harry accepts Pat Tillman Award for Service at ESPYs despite Tillman's mother's criticism to honor him
- Trump asks judge to throw out conviction in New York hush money case
Recommendation
-
Suspected shooter and four others are found dead in three Kansas homes, police say
-
Houston community groups strain to keep feeding and cooling a city battered by repeat storms
-
Lakers vs. Rockets live updates: Watch Bronny James in summer league game today
-
Montana State Hospital shuffles top leadership, again
-
US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
-
U.S. says it will deploy more long-range missiles in Germany, Russia vows a military response
-
How many points did Bronny James score tonight? Lakers-Rockets summer league box score
-
Idris Elba meets with King Charles III to discuss UK youth violence: See photos