Court Ruling Demands Quick Response by Election Officials
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas judge's ruling on the state's proof-of-citizenship requirement is causing confusion among some election officials just four days before the state's primary election.Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks ruled Friday the state must count potentially thousands of votes in state and local races in Tuesday's primary from people who registered without providing documentation of their U.S. citizenship. Saline County Clerk Don Merriman says he is glad for the ruling, but it is too bad it came this late in the election cycle.His county has already printed their election poll books, and those people are not in it.But Douglas County Clerk Jameson Shew says he has had plans and systems in place anticipating every scenario and will implement the one that fits the ruling.
============
Kansas One of Three States Ordered to Repeal Voter Restrictions
CHICAGO (AP) - Courts have dealt setbacks to Republican efforts in three states to restrict voting. A court Friday blocked a North Carolina law requiring photo identification. Other courts halted measures in Kansas that would have applied strict citizenship requirements and in Wisconsin that placed limits including the times when absentee voting is allowed.The three rulings came as the 2016 election moves into its final phase with Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton locked in a high-stakes presidential race and control of the U.S. Senate possibly hanging in the balance.The rulings follow a blow earlier this month to what critics said was one of the nation's most restrictive voting laws in Texas. A federal appeals court said Texas' voter ID law is discriminatory and must be weakened before the November election.
============
Kansans to Vote in Primary Election on Tuesday
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Republican primary voters in this deep red state head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to back their GOP congressional incumbents, including two who are running unopposed for their U.S. House seats. The state's Democrats have slightly more choices on their primary ballot as they decide who they want as challengers for the November elections.U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran faces a primary race with Della Jean "D.J." Smith, a former Osawatomie city council member, who is running against a sitting GOP senator for a second time.Democrats Patrick Wiesner of Lawrence and Monique Singh-Bey of Kansas City are vying for the chance to face Moran in November's general election. U.S. Reps. Lynn Jenkins and Mike Pompeo are running unopposed in their GOP primaries.
============
Inmate Charged with Killing a Man Tied to 2014 Wedding Death
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A federal inmate has been charged with killing a man connected to the 2014 shooting death of a Kansas bride.The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 27-year-old Cortez Tyrell Timley was charged Wednesday with premeditated first-degree murder in the June 2014 shooting death of 26-year-old Jermel Robbins Sr. He doesn't yet have an attorney.Three weeks earlier, 42-year-old Tiffany Davenport-Ray was killed as she headed to her wedding reception when shots were fired from a sport utility vehicle in which three men were riding. Two men were convicted previously, and Robbins name surfaced as the third SUV occupant during their trials.Timley pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.The offense occurred the same day Robbins was killed.
============
Trial Set for Man Charged in Death of Pittsburg State University Student
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) - A man has been ordered to stand trial in the 2014 shooting death of a Pittsburg State University student.The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that Bryan Bridges was ordered Thursday to stand trial for the murder of Taylor Thomas, a 20-year-old junior when he was killed in October 2014. Authorities say he was killed during a robbery.District Court Judge Kurtis I. Loy bound Bridges over for trial on several charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. The trial has been scheduled to begin Nov. 28.Three other men have entered pleas in the case.
============
Governor Can Choose When to Fill District Magistrate Position
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that state law allows Gov. Sam Brownback to decide when he will fill a vacant district magistrate position. Three 26th District judges asked the court in July to require Brownback to appoint a judge in that district within 90 days of learning of the vacancy. They argued state law requires five magistrate judges to serve the six-county district.Brownback wants to wait until after the August election to appoint a replacement for Judge Tommy Webb of Haskell County, who retired in February.The justices ruled unanimously Friday that wording of state law gives the governor discretion to exceed the 90-day deadline.
Justices Dan Biles and Caleb Stegall were not part of the decision. They were replaced by Senior Judges Michael Malone and David Stutzman.
============
Parole Denied for man Convicted of Killing Police Officer in 1989
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Officials have denied parole for a man convicted in the 1989 death of a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer.The Kansas Prisoner Review Board has ruled that 47-year-old Darryl L. Lewis will have to wait three years before he can seek parole again.Lewis was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Officer Jeff Young, and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Lewis was driving a stolen car and trying to elude arrest when he struck and critically injured Young in November 1988.Young was in coma until he died on August 1, 1989. The Kansas City Star reports that the parole board said in its decision that Lewis needs to avoid any disciplinary reports.
============
Developer Purchases Former Brown County Jailhouse
HIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) - A former jailhouse in northeast Kansas has sold at auction for $10,000 to a developer who hopes to turn it into a hotel.The St. Joseph News-Press reports the former Brown County jailhouse in Hiawatha was auctioned off Friday. Michael Wuttke, of Orangevale, California, bought the building and its contents for $10,000.No one else bid on the property.Wuttke also owns a former nursing home in the area and says he hopes to repurpose both buildings.He says he plans to make the nursing home a home for veterans and turn the jail into a themed hotel where visitors can spend the night in jail, going through the whole process of booking, fingerprinting and dressing in jail jumpsuits.
