Author

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.
Rule lets Kansas courts refuse the release of ‘compiled information,’ obscuring your right to know
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Swaths of Kansas lack written policies on exculpatory evidence, law enforcement dishonesty
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Dear Kris Kobach: Please read this open letter about open government in Kansas
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Kansas AG’s office enforces open records law while overlooking key piece
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Attorney General’s Office ignores plain text of Kansas open records law, sets poor example
By: Max Kautsch - 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, […]
Johnson County sheriff’s stonewalling on election probe keeps Kansans in the dark
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Getting logrolled? Legislator survey exposes weakness in Kansas constitutional limit on bundling
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
With open government on the line, we’re calling Kansas legislators to account
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt falls short on enforcing open records law
By: Max Kautsch - 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 […]