Author

Max Kautsch

Max Kautsch

Max Kautsch, licensed to practice law in both Kansas and Nebraska, focuses his practice on First Amendment rights and open government law. He helps news media and members of the public assert rights of access to court proceedings, court records, and government agency documents. He serves as the legal hotline attorney for the Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, is president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, and is an adjunct professor at the University Kansas School of Law. Kautsch is also hotline counsel to both the Nebraska Press Association and the Nebraska Broadcasters Association.

OPINION
A statue representing justice stands at the Kansas Judicial Center, where the Kansas Supreme Court is located, on Feb. 4, 2022. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Rule lets Kansas courts refuse the release of ‘compiled information,’ obscuring your right to know

By: - October 5, 2023

Of all the headline-grabbing stories in the wake of the “chilling” raid of a community newspaper and two private residences in Marion this past summer, none was more important than the coverage of the affidavits the Marion police chief had signed to justify the search warrants. Commentators were swift to condemn the affidavits as devoid […]

OPINION
The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday a former police detective in Kansas City, Kansas, was indicted on six counts related to sexual assault of two women about 20 years ago. Roger Golubski, 69, was accused of federal civil rights crimes for assaulting victims while under "color of law." (Getty Images)

Swaths of Kansas lack written policies on exculpatory evidence, law enforcement dishonesty

By: - January 26, 2023

Leslie Mayer of Hutchinson is convinced the Lyon County Attorney’s Office withheld evidence that would have helped her late son Travis avoid at least some of the 56 months in prison he served after being found guilty of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer at a 2017 trial. The withheld evidence, she believes, included […]

OPINION
Kris Kobach speaks at news conference

Dear Kris Kobach: Please read this open letter about open government in Kansas

By: - November 20, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. Dear attorney general-elect Kris Kobach: Congratulations on your election as […]

OPINION
Derek Schmidt appears onstage

Kansas AG’s office enforces open records law while overlooking key piece

By: - September 15, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. On Wednesday, I reviewed the unwillingness of the Attorney General’s […]

OPINION

Attorney General’s Office ignores plain text of Kansas open records law, sets poor example

By: - September 14, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. One of the framers of the U.S. Constitution, John Adams, […]

OPINION
A sign on July 29, 2022, directs voters to the Shawnee County Elections Office. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Johnson County sheriff’s stonewalling on election probe keeps Kansans in the dark

By: - August 7, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden doesn’t want you to know […]

OPINION
Rep. Adam Smith, R-Weskan, and chairman of the House Taxation Committee, ushered through the House a bill cutting state tax revenue by $90 million annually. Contents of the measure was drawn from 29 different bills. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Getting logrolled? Legislator survey exposes weakness in Kansas constitutional limit on bundling

By: - July 10, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. Of the 40 senators and 125 representatives serving in the […]

OPINION
The Kansas Legislature discourages public involvement by obscuring the policymaking process. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

With open government on the line, we’re calling Kansas legislators to account

By: - June 12, 2022

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. Following one of the more contentious and veto-heavy legislative sessions […]

OPINION
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said he understood that U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall was repaying a favor by endorsing former Gov. Jeff Colyer for the 2022 GOP nomination for governor. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt falls short on enforcing open records law

By: - March 16, 2021

The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Max Kautsch is an attorney whose practice focuses on First Amendment rights and open government law. Every March, Sunshine Week reminds us to consider whether Kansans […]