Members of the public may access public documents in Douglas County District Court criminal cases by visiting the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal.
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Lawrence police investigating alleged sexual assault of elementary school students
Two Prairie Park Elementary School students were allegedly sexually assaulted by an employee of the school, Lawrence police say.
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Brady/Giglio • Rontarus Washington Jr. • Albert Wilson • Justin Spiehs
MORe crime & courts

Former D.A. faces ethics complaint for failing to stop misconduct in Topeka murder trial
Former Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor faces an ethics complaint for prosecutorial misconduct by his assistant during the 2012 murder trial of Dana Chandler.

Kansas attorney general, Douglas County DA trade barbs on election law
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt reinforced Monday that his office would, in fact, prosecute a law that caused activist groups to cease voter registration drives for fear of felony charges — including in Douglas County, where District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said her office would not enforce the law.

Researchers to share findings from law enforcement contact study
Researchers who have been gathering data to determine whether racial-, ethnic- and other bias-based policing is a problem in Lawrence and Douglas County will present their preliminary findings on Monday, Aug. 9.

Kansas A.G. subpoenas reporter’s notes from book on wrongful murder conviction
The Kansas Attorney General’s office has issued a subpoena commanding a journalist to turn over information he gathered while writing a book and news stories about a Jefferson County man who served 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Despite Douglas County DA refusing to prosecute, nonprofits still wary to resume voter registration
Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez said Tuesday that she won’t prosecute anyone under a new state law that caused nonprofits to halt voter registration efforts at the start of July, but the groups won’t immediately resume engaging with voters.

Douglas County DA will not prosecute violations of new law that criminalizes looking like an election worker
Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez announced Tuesday that she would not prosecute violations of a newly effective law in the state of Kansas that makes it a felony for individuals to engage in conduct that would make a person think they are an elections worker.

Attorney general to appeal emergency-power decision, warns of ‘legal anarchy’
The Kansas AG wants the state Supreme Court to consider overturning a ruling that struck down a law that granted students, parents and employees the opportunity to challenge public school district policy and reduced a governor’s authority during statewide emergencies.

Lawrence skateboarder injured during arrest files lawsuit against ex-officer, prosecutors
An ex-Lawrence police officer constructed a criminal case against a skateboarder in an attempt to avoid, essentially, the excessive force lawsuit that was filed Friday in federal court, the complaint alleges.

Rontarus Washington Jr.’s retrial date set — July 2022
Rontarus Washington Jr. will go to trial, for the second time, in 367 days.

New Kansas law cracks down on sexual extortion, spousal abuse, fleeing police
Kansas lawmakers are praising a new law that creates the crime of sexual extortion and removes a spousal exemption to sexual battery. It also prohibits a court from ordering a victim of a crime to undergo a psychological evaluation.