Raided Kansas paper’s lawyer demands police chief not review info from ‘illegal searches’

An attorney for a Kansas newspaper raided by Marion police warned Chief Gideon Cody on Sunday that in treating the local paper “as a drug cartel or a street gang” he had violated the constitutions of both Kansas and the United States.

Bernie Rhodes, a Kansas City lawyer who represents the Marion County Record, in a letter to Cody demanded police not review any information on computers, phones and other devices seized during the search on Friday of the newspaper’s office and the home of the owners. One of the co-owners, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, died the day after the raid but not before condemning it in strong terms.

“As Joan Meyer said less than 24 hours before she died, ‘These are Hitler tactics.’ She is right,” wrote Rhodes, who also represents The Star.

Rhodes wrote that under Kansas’ journalist shield law, the paper is entitled to a hearing before the authorities review any of the information seized. The law extends to any information taken, not just confidential sources, he wrote.

The scorching letter is a potential prelude to a legal challenge of the search. The Record has indicated it plans to bring a federal lawsuit, and Rhodes wrote that he was offering Cody the opportunity to “mitigate my client’s damages from the illegal searches you personally authorized, directed and conducted” on Friday.

A search warrant shows police were looking for evidence that a reporter had run an improper computer search to confirm an accurate report that a local business owner applying for a liquor license had lost her driver’s license over a DUI.

In a statement, the Marion Police Department defended the search in general terms. The department said that federal law requires law enforcement in most cases to seek a subpoena for information from journalists instead of a search, “unless they themselves are suspects in the offense that is the subject of the search.”

But Rhodes wrote that federal law allows access to a driver’s license status for research activities as long as the information isn’t published, redisclosed or used to contact individuals. Because the paper didn’t publish any information from the website, the search had a valid research purpose.

Cody is a former Kansas City Police Department captain, who left the agency after 24 years to become chief in Marion earlier this year. Record owner and publisher Eric Meyer said the paper had investigated Cody’s background and his time in Kansas City but ultimately didn’t publish a story.

“I can assure you that the Record will take every step to obtain relief for the damages your heavy-handed actions have already caused my client. As I stated at the beginning, this letter offers you an opportunity to mitigate those damages going forward,” Rhodes wrote.

“If I were you, I would jump at this opportunity.”

The Star’s Glenn Rice and Judy Thomas contributed reporting

This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Raided Kansas paper’s lawyer demands police chief not review info from ‘illegal searches’."

Jonathan Shorman

The Kansas City Star

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Jonathan Shorman was The Kansas City Star’s lead political reporter, covering Kansas and Missouri politics and government, until August 2025. He previously covered the Kansas Statehouse for The Star and Wichita Eagle. He holds a journalism degree from The University of Kansas.