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Radio Active Magazine
A locally produced program where activist groups in the Kansas City area present interviews, commentary, editorials, and other thought provoking content on a weekly basis.
Micah Kubic, director of the ACLU Kansas Chapter, joins Craig Lubow and Spencer Graves to discuss the recent victory of the Kansas ACLU against Chris Kobach in an important voter rights case in Federal District Court. Second, Ramon Valdez joins Spencer Graves to discuss upcoming activities addressing the immigration child separation policy. Has Trump really ended it with his executive order or just found a way to hide it better? Tune in and find out.
In 2015 the Kansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gave notice to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach of the ACLU’s intent to file suit under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and constitutional protections of the right to vote. The law requires plaintiffs to give defendants 90 days notice before filing a legal proceeding like this. The 90 days expired on or before Feb. 18, 2016, when “Fish v. Kobach” was officially filed in the US District Court for Kansas. In this case, Steven Wayne Fish and other Kansans, whose attempts to register to vote had been denied, along with the League of Women Voters, who try to make it easier for potential voters to register, sued Kobach and Kansas Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan for unlawfully denying them the right to register to vote. The court issued a preliminary injunction against Kobach on May 17, which Kobach appealed on May 24. The appellate court in Denver upheld the injunction on October 19, 2016. Trial hearings ran from March 6 to 19, 2018, with a contempt hearing for Kobach on March 20.
On nearly all the major issues in question, Chief District Judge for Kansas, Julie Robinson, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Apart from dismissing Kansas Secretary of Revenue Jordan from the case, Robinson sided with the defense on only a relatively few minor procedural questions.
Most importantly, the Kansas Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) was found to violate the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 as well as numerous provisions of the United States Constitution (as amended), protecting the rights of citizens to vote. And Secretary of State Kris Kobach was found in contempt of court for “a pattern and practice by [Kobach] of flaunting disclosure and discovery rules that are designed to prevent prejudice and surprise at trial … and the fact that [Kobach] resisted the Court’s rulings by continuing to try to introduce such evidence after exclusion”. As a result, Kobach was found in contempt of court and ordered to “attend 6 hours [of Continuing Legal Education] in addition to any other CLE education required by his law license”.
Kobach is expected to appeal, but Dr. Kubic said he’d be surprised if Kobach’s appeals get very far.
Immigration child separation policy
Ramon Valdez, who managed the Centers for Excellence in Portland, OR, and Kansas City, MO, for the Innovation Law Lab, discussed the Trump administration policies involving separating children from their parents, including the nationwide “Families Belong Together” this coming Saturday, June 30, organized by MoveOn.org. They are inviting people in the Kansas City area concerned about this issue to join them at noon, Saturday, June 30, at Penn Valley Park, 2698 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64108.
