The judge and county attorney would likely be shielded by qualified immunity, in my opinion. The police chief who wrote the affidavit, executed the warrant, and ran his mouth on Facebook (he hasn’t run his mouth since the county attorney withdrew the warrant for insufficient evidence btw) while having potentially ulterior motives might not find it so easy, however. Qualified immunity generally shields incompetence, but not malice.
Edit: I will note as an aside that the hotel already had a liquor license, the owner just didn’t want to keep it under his name when the restaurant was the one running the bar.
In another development, news emerged that Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, who signed the search warrant allowing police to seize the equipment, was arrested at least twice for driving under the influence. Those 2012 arrests came months apart in two counties — and it’s not clear how much information was shared between officials at the time, The Wichita Eagle reports.
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In the first arrest, Viar “was charged and entered a diversion agreement — which was extended six months because she refused to get an alcohol and drug evaluation and stopped communicating with her lawyer,”
She was arrested again months later, this time in her home county.
“Officials say she was driving Morris County Magistrate Judge Thomas Ball’s vehicle, when she ran off the road and hit a shed near the Council Grove football field,” TV station WIBW reported in 2012, adding that at the time, the prosecutor was on the Morris County Anti-Drug Task Force.
“She was charged with DUI, reckless driving and refusal to take a preliminary breathalyzer,” the Emporia Gazette reported at the time.
Despite those issues, Viar was reelected as county prosecutor several times. In late 2022, she was chosen to fill a slot as a magistrate judge in the 8th Judicial District after the sitting judge retired.
Thanks for the clarification! My understanding was that the liquor license could not be transferred, and that it was due to expire this week anyway, thus the rush for the new one.
Do you think the judge would/should be censured in some way? She apparently signed off without an affidavit of probable cause, and there was no actual urgency to the search warrant. Plus she should have (theoretically, at least) known that you can’t (generally) use search warrantss on newspapers.
I’m not sure how much the DA (CA) was involved. With the county apparently being run this unofficially, it’s possible the sheriff went straight to the judge. I will note that the DA is the brother of the hotel owner, though whether that figured into his/her calculations (if indeed they were involved) I don’t know.
The judge and county attorney would likely be shielded by qualified immunity, in my opinion. The police chief who wrote the affidavit, executed the warrant, and ran his mouth on Facebook (he hasn’t run his mouth since the county attorney withdrew the warrant for insufficient evidence btw) while having potentially ulterior motives might not find it so easy, however. Qualified immunity generally shields incompetence, but not malice.
Edit: I will note as an aside that the hotel already had a liquor license, the owner just didn’t want to keep it under his name when the restaurant was the one running the bar.
Speaking of the Judge that signed the warrant:
https://www.npr.org/2023/08/17/1194392001/judge-who-signed-kansas-newspaper-search-warrant-had-2-dui-arrests-reports-say
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Thanks for the clarification! My understanding was that the liquor license could not be transferred, and that it was due to expire this week anyway, thus the rush for the new one.
Do you think the judge would/should be censured in some way? She apparently signed off without an affidavit of probable cause, and there was no actual urgency to the search warrant. Plus she should have (theoretically, at least) known that you can’t (generally) use search warrantss on newspapers.
I’m not sure how much the DA (CA) was involved. With the county apparently being run this unofficially, it’s possible the sheriff went straight to the judge. I will note that the DA is the brother of the hotel owner, though whether that figured into his/her calculations (if indeed they were involved) I don’t know.