OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent dog attack.

Just before 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27, police were dispatched to the 400 block of Ash Street in Overbrook for a report of a dog attack, according to a media release.

The responding officer was informed by the reporting party that their dog had been attacked by two pit bulls. The dog died as a result of injuries. 

The officer confiscated one of the pit bulls and transported it to Carbondale Veterinary Clinic. The other pit bull was shot by a citizen during a later altercation. 

During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the pit bulls belong to 19-year-old Brennan C. Wilde, 19 of Lawrence. Wilde has been charged with Permitting a Dangerous Animal to be at Large, Cruelty to Animals and Endangerment.

The Osage County Sheriff's Office and Kansas Highway Patrol assisted police with the investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675078083818.png" alt="Photo city of Overbrook" />
 <figcaption>Photo city of Overbrook</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent dog attack.Just before 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27, police were dispatched to the 400 block of Ash Street in Overbrook for a report of a dog attack, according to a media release.The responding officer was informed by the reporting party that their dog had been attacked by two pit bulls. The dog died as a result of injuries. The officer confiscated one of the pit bulls and transported it to Carbondale Veterinary Clinic. The other pit bull was shot by a citizen during a later altercation. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the pit bulls belong to 19-year-old Brennan C. Wilde, 19 of Lawrence. Wilde has been charged with Permitting a Dangerous Animal to be at Large, Cruelty to Animals and Endangerment.The Osage County Sheriff's Office and Kansas Highway Patrol assisted police with the investigation.

Police: Kansas man charged after pit bulls kill dog 

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging two people with transporting methamphetamine across state lines.

According to court documents, Orlando Payan-Parra, 39, and Erika Cardona-Carrizales, 43, both of Coachella, California, are charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of interstate and foreign travel or transportation in air of racketing enterprises.

Payan-Parra and Cardona-Carrizales allegedly traveled from California to Kansas with intent to distribute controlled substances.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Kansas Highway Patrol are investigating the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675098656986.png" alt="Payan-Parra-photo Meade Co." />
 <figcaption>Payan-Parra-photo Meade Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging two people with transporting methamphetamine across state lines.According to court documents, Orlando Payan-Parra, 39, and Erika Cardona-Carrizales, 43, both of Coachella, California, are charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of interstate and foreign travel or transportation in air of racketing enterprises.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675098694472.png" alt="Cardona-Carrizales-photo Meade County" />
 <figcaption>Cardona-Carrizales-photo Meade County</figcaption>
 </figure>Payan-Parra and Cardona-Carrizales allegedly traveled from California to Kansas with intent to distribute controlled substances.The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Kansas Highway Patrol are investigating the case.

California couple accused of attempting to sell meth in Kansas

I’m single, and I make $35,000 a year. Next year, my salary and bonuses should be around $50,000. I have a little over $30,000 in debt right now, including student loans, and I’m not sure how I’ll be able to keep up with bills and everything else right now if I have to save $1,000 for a starter emergency fund like you recommend. Can I get by with a starter emergency fund of $500?

I really think you’re making this whole thing sound a lot harder than it really is. They key is making&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/budgeting">living on a budget</a>, and that’s not rocket science. It’s a simple, written planning process where you give a name and a job to every dollar you make before the month begins.

Food, shelter, clothing, transportation and utilities are necessities, so they come first. After that, make sure you’re current on your debts. Once all that is out of the way, put every spare dollar you can into your emergency fund. If you do this with a sense of urgency, and limit spending to necessities, you’ll be surprised by how fast it will happen. And you’ll love the newfound sense of security.

The truth is you really need a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/is-starter-emergency-fund-enough">starter emergency fund</a>&nbsp;of $1,000 if you’re at a point in life where student loans and other debts are in the picture. That may seem like an impossible goal right now, but it should be your first priority. And a written, monthly budget will go a long way toward helping you achieve that goal.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648177011035.png" alt="Dave Ramsey&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,I’m single, and I make $35,000 a year. Next year, my salary and bonuses should be around $50,000. I have a little over $30,000 in debt right now, including student loans, and I’m not sure how I’ll be able to keep up with bills and everything else right now if I have to save $1,000 for a starter emergency fund like you recommend. Can I get by with a starter emergency fund of $500?JonasDear Jonas,I really think you’re making this whole thing sound a lot harder than it really is. They key is making&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/budgeting">living on a budget</a>, and that’s not rocket science. It’s a simple, written planning process where you give a name and a job to every dollar you make before the month begins.Food, shelter, clothing, transportation and utilities are necessities, so they come first. After that, make sure you’re current on your debts. Once all that is out of the way, put every spare dollar you can into your emergency fund. If you do this with a sense of urgency, and limit spending to necessities, you’ll be surprised by how fast it will happen. And you’ll love the newfound sense of security.The truth is you really need a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/is-starter-emergency-fund-enough">starter emergency fund</a>&nbsp;of $1,000 if you’re at a point in life where student loans and other debts are in the picture. That may seem like an impossible goal right now, but it should be your first priority. And a written, monthly budget will go a long way toward helping you achieve that goal.You can do this, Jonas!— Dave

DAVE SAYS: It’s not as difficult as you think

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/she-killed-her-rapist-after-months-of-abuse-advocates-say-kansas-governor-should-set-her-free/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko.

She also regrets moving into his 
Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a 
lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture.

On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat.

“That is the moment that my pain and 
suffering spilled over onto many different people, even outside of us 
two,” she said in a phone interview from the women’s prison in Topeka. 
“So that moment, yes, I absolutely regret, and I would never do that 
again.”

A jury convicted Gonzales-McLinn of 
first-degree murder in 2015 without knowing about the months of abuse 
that preceded her grisly crime. Now, her advocates hope to get her out 
of prison by convincing the governor to grant her clemency — a longshot 
attempt to correct what they view as injustice.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sarah-Gonzales-McLinn-Clemency-Application.pdf">The clemency application</a>
 focuses on Sasko’s grooming of her from the age of 14, including the 
financial and psychological traps he used to keep her in bondage. New 
details include the revelation that Sasko, at age 52, had started 
grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death.

Advocates hope her request for 
clemency will elevate public awareness of human trafficking cases so 
that women like Gonzales-McLinn may be better understood by family, 
friends, law enforcement and judges.

“How is it that she can be tried and 
convicted without a jury being fully aware of what was going on in that 
house? How is that not an injustice?” said Dave Ranney, a retired 
journalist who met Gonzales-McLinn as a volunteer for a writing program 
at the women’s prison. “The question isn’t whether she killed him, it’s 
why? And if you don’t know the answer to that, just ask anyone who 
counsels women who find themselves caught up in abusive relationships. 
They can tell you.”

Gonzales-McLinn was sentenced to a 
minimum of 50 years in prison. In 2021, newly elected Douglas County 
District Attorney Suzanne Valdez made a stunning deal. Gonzales-McLinn’s
 sentence was cut in half in exchange for giving up the right to appeal.
 But there is no guarantee a parole board will let her out of prison 
before she dies.

Valdez publicly <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">defended the plea deal</a> but secretly agreed Gonzales-McLinn should be freed.

Interviews, court records, 
confidential police documents, psychological reports, the clemency 
application and other materials obtained by Kansas Reflector provide 
insight into the events surrounding Sasko’s death and the legal 
proceedings that followed.

State corrections officials refused 
to allow an in-person interview with Gonzales-McLinn, citing 
inconvenience for prison staff and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/kdoc-policies/AdultIMPP/chapter-8/08-104d-media-and-public-access.pdf/view">state agency policy</a>
 that only grants reporters access for stories on “appropriate” topics. 
Instead, corrections officials required Gonzales-McLinn to answer 
sensitive questions over the phone while surrounded by other inmates.

This was her first interview with a reporter, and she was nervous to tell her story.

“I’ve never talked about this with 
anyone outside of attorneys and psychologists — like, not even my 
family,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “But I just feel like it’s time, also. I 
feel like it has been just so hard to talk about because it does still 
hold a certain amount of power over me.”

Gonzales-McLinn welcomed the 
invitation from Sasko to move into his Lawrence home after she graduated
 a year early from Topeka High School. She was 17, and he was 50.

They met three years earlier, when 
she went to work for Sasko at his Cicis Pizza branch in Topeka. He 
stayed in touch as she moved on to other jobs.

Sasko knew about her troubled 
relationship with her parents. He knew she had been violently raped by a
 man who left her with scars from cigarette burns. She had attempted 
suicide and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and 
depression.

“When I moved into that house, I had 
no idea what was in store for me,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “I truly did 
think of him as a father figure to me. I just had no idea.”

The supposed sanctuary included unlimited access to marijuana and alcohol. Cocaine and ecstasy also were available.

Sasko charged her rent, and she 
bought her own food. He slowly gained control over “most everything that
 I did,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

After they had lived together for 
about six months, he told Gonzales-McLinn he loved her. She said she 
“shut it down,” but he continued to make unwanted advances. Eventually, 
he demanded sex as a condition for staying with him.

“I was very crushed the first time that happened, and I just felt completely helpless at that point,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

Sasko commandeered her paychecks, 
telling her she owed money for gas, her phone, car repairs and other 
expenses. He threatened to sue her if she left and told her he would 
wreck her credit rating so that she could never get an apartment or buy a
 car. She would be homeless, he warned.

Family and friends later told police 
that Sasko bragged about how “amazing” it was to “have an 18-year-old.” 
But he complained to Gonzales-McLinn that she wasn’t attractive enough.

He paid for her to get a nose job, 
then added the $6,000 cost to the bill she would have to repay before 
she could stop having sex with him.

He told her that men don’t like 
flat-chested women. She needed a curvier body. He wanted her to have 
breast augmentation surgery, but the doctor said she was too young. He 
arranged for her to have buttocks implants instead. She objected but 
felt she had no choice. He added the $10,000 cost to her bill.

Her last paycheck, from Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, was for $265.56.

Gonzales-McLinn later told a 
psychologist that she would drink herself into a semi-conscious state 
when Sasko required sex. If she tried to resist, he held her arms.

“I would get as drunk as I could and just lay there,” she told the psychologist.

She estimated that he raped her two to three times per week for 10 months.

By late December 2013, 
Gonzales-McLinn had broken from reality. She searched Google for such 
phrases as: “Why do I think so differently?”

She texted her sister: “I feel like a caged animal right now, and it’s making me crazy.”

Greg Kelley told police he visited 
his uncle’s house a month or two before the murder and was alarmed to 
find a skinned rabbit in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Gonzales-McLinn had bought the rabbit
 at a local pet store, signed a waiver saying she would care for it, 
then used a knife to kill and skin the animal. She dug the rabbit’s fur 
out of the trash and demonstrated for Kelley how she stuck the knife 
through the rabbit’s neck. She had put thought into the technique.

She did this, she explained, to learn how to “self survive.”

The rabbit was marinating because she planned to cook and eat it the next day.

Kelley thought to himself: “This chick has problems.”

In clinical terms, Gonzales-McLinn 
was suffering from major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, 
substance abuse and dissociative identity disorder — formerly known as 
multiple personalities.

“To a reasonable degree of 
psychological certainty, Ms. Gonzales McLinn suffers from a number of 
serious mental illnesses,” wrote Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist who 
spent 17.5 hours evaluating Gonzales-McLinn after the murder.

Sharon Sullivan, a Washburn 
University professor and expert on human trafficking, said it is 
important to understand the neurological impact of sexual abuse. 
“Survival brain” takes over, Sullivan said, and the part of the brain 
that controls decision making goes offline.

In Gonzales-McLinn’s case, Sullivan 
said, her brain wasn’t even fully developed. She was trapped. She didn’t
 know there were options.

“I can’t even imagine having to deal 
with that at 18 years old, with so little experience of the world,” 
Sullivan said. “And this is someone who’s supposed to love her, called 
her his daughter. How f***ing creepy is that?”

Gonzales-McLinn said she couldn’t find a way to cope with the abuse in a way that made her feel better.

“There was a lot of drugs and alcohol
 in that house, and that was the only relief that I felt the whole 
time,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “That is kind of a dark road to go down.”

Hutchinson’s report said 
Gonzales-McLinn had been molested by a neighbor as a child, and the rape
 at age 16 “was extraordinarily traumatic.” She had nightmares of 
killing herself and the rapist. She felt unavoidable humiliation.

Sasko’s abuse compounded the trauma. 
Gonzales-McLinn came to the conclusion she would have to kill herself or
 kill him. A change in antidepressant medication may have affected her 
thinking, Hutchinson noted.

On the morning of Jan. 14, 2014, 
Sasko texted Gonzales-McLinn to apologize for trying to sleep with her 
again. But at 5:15 that night, he sent a text asking her to put beer in 
the refrigerator. She knew if he was drinking, she would be raped.

Gonzales-McLinn killed Sasko shortly 
before midnight. She drove her car to Florida so she could see the ocean
 before her inevitable arrest.

Lawrence police questioned her after 
she was found 11 days later in Everglades National Park. Detective Jamie
 Lawson wanted to know why she used Sasko’s blood to write “FREEDOM” on 
the wall.

“What was you trying to express when you did that?” Lawson asked.

Later, Gonzales-McLinn told Hutchinson that killing Sasko felt like standing in the sun for the first time.

In a closed-door meeting with the 
trial judge in 2015, prosecutor Charles Branson successfully argued that
 it would be inappropriate for the jury to hear about Sasko’s abuse of 
Gonzales-McLinn.

“Details of those allegations would 
not be proper in front of the jury during the guilt phase of the trial 
because they would be simply information that would be used to create 
sympathy for the defendant,” Branson said, according to a transcript of 
the conversation.

Branson considered the abuse to be 
“irrelevant information.” He also didn’t want the abuse to be made 
public because news outlets would write about it.

Defense attorney Carl Cornwell agreed
 to restrictions on the evidence of abuse he could present at trial. 
Instead, he tried to convince jurors that Gonzales-McLinn was too 
mentally unstable to understand her actions.

The jury rejected Cornwell’s 
arguments, which emphasized the “system of Sarah,” a reference to her 
multiple personalities. Prosecutors said she was exaggerating symptoms 
of mental illness.

Gonzales-McLinn didn’t realize she 
might have to spend the rest of her life in prison. She was shocked and 
confused when evidence of Sasko’s abuse wasn’t presented at trial.

“I never had this mentality of, ‘I’m 
just going to get out scot-free, that’s what I’m fighting for, that’s 
what I want.’ But I did always want what was fair,” Gonzales-McLinn 
said. “If you don’t say everything that happened, how can somebody 
decide what’s fair?”

Douglas County District Judge Paula 
Martin gave Gonzales-McLinn a Hard 50 sentence, meaning she would have 
to serve at least 50 years before the chance of parole. She would be 
nearly 70 years old by then.

Gonzales-McLinn appealed her sentence
 on the grounds that Cornwell provided ineffective counsel. Meanwhile, 
advocates began to prepare a clemency application — and uncovered 
evidence that wasn’t presented to the jury.

Sasko had downloaded hundreds of 
videos of violent pornography on his phone and visited x-rated websites 
that featured children, teens and bestiality. At least 20 times, he 
visited websites that featured men fondling or having sex with women who
 appeared to be sleeping.

Police found a camera and flash 
drives on a desk in Sasko’s bedroom. A detective said images found on 
the flash drives demonstrated that Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn were 
friends who spent time together. Advocates weren’t allowed to view the 
files.

Confidential police reports revealed 
Sasko was grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death. Their mother
 was furious at the attention and gifts he provided them, including 
cash, gas, clothes, subwoofers for their car, and an unsolicited 
envelope of marijuana. When the mother blocked his number on their 
phones, he bought them new phones. If they ever wanted to run away, he 
told the girls, they could move in with him.

Megan Stuke, executive director of 
The Willow, a domestic violence center in Lawrence, said the concepts of
 “grooming” and “human trafficking” are frequently misunderstood.

“Somebody gets you in a relationship,
 provides you with creature comforts or covering your needs, so that 
then you don’t have any other options but to do what they want — to 
maintain your housing, finance, maybe it’s an addiction that they’ve 
helped you create,” Stuke said. “People can be trafficked by their 
parents. People are trafficked by their boyfriends. It’s not necessarily
 the big ring of bad guys moving people around.”

Valdez, the Douglas County district 
attorney, knew about the abuse when she reached a plea deal in May 2021 
with defense attorney Jonathan Sternberg that would require 
Gonzales-McLinn to spend at least 25 years in prison.

Before his client would drop her appeal, the defense attorney made one last request.

“Can you also confirm that should the
 settlement agreement be accepted by the judge, you personally intend to
 support Sarah obtaining clemency from the Governor when it becomes 
politically appropriate for both you and the Governor?” Sternberg wrote 
in an email. “I know we also discussed that, too, and Sarah wanted me to
 ask you that.”

Valdez declined to comment for this story, but she and Sternberg defended the plea deal in <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">a column published by Kansas Reflector</a>.

“There is a difference between 
zealous advocacy and zealotry,” they wrote. “Zealous advocacy relies on 
facts that are supported by testimony, evidence and arguments that can 
be admitted in a court of law. Zealotry relies almost solely on zeal.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/07/15/why-the-mother-of-a-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-isnt-happy-with-an-extraordinary-settlement/">Michelle Gonzales responded</a>
 on behalf of her daughter’s advocates: “Valdez and Sternberg may find 
legal comfort in knowing that a young woman who killed her rapist will 
spend at least 25 years in prison. We do not.”

Gonzales-McLinn said her unwanted 
buttocks implants are a constant reminder of the physical and emotional 
pain Sasko inflicted on her.

Shortly after she arrived at prison, she asked to have them removed.

“They were all just curious,” 
Gonzales-McLinn said. “I remember one nurse went and called another 
nurse in and they both touched me.”

The state denied her the medical procedure.

“Yeah, it would be ideal if all of 
the nurses would, you know, follow HIPAA and keep your medical stuff 
private, but they don’t,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “And they told a lot of 
people — a lot of officers, a lot of inmates. That was just very 
traumatic.”

She recently renewed her request to remove the implants and is awaiting an answer.

Advocates, including Ranney, Sullivan
 and Stuke, compiled a lengthy review of her case, with supporting 
documentation, as part of the clemency application they filed in 
December with the Prisoner Review Board. Advocates hired Hutchinson, the
 psychologist, to conduct a new evaluation.

“It is with a great deal of 
psychological certainty that I opine that Sarah Gonzales McLinn has 
achieved rehabilitation and is very capable of maintaining a crime-free 
and productive life,” Hutchinson wrote in a new report.

The board, through a process outlined
 in state law, will gather input from Valdez and Sasko’s family, and 
make a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kelly has <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/24/kansas-governor-grants-clemency-to-8-embracing-political-risk-in-rare-use-of-power/">granted clemency to eight individuals</a>
 through an initiative that reviewed nonviolent drug crimes. Her office 
declined to answer questions for this story about whether that 
initiative is ongoing, or whether consideration should be given to 
someone who suffered sexual abuse.

Stuke said Gonzales-McLinn was acting in self-defense when she killed Sasko.

“When you meet Sarah, it is so clear 
that she is not a vicious killer,” Stuke said. “She is not someone who 
is a danger to society at this point. She was in a particular situation 
with what felt to her like no options.”

Prison has given Gonzales-McLinn a chance to heal.

In a “weird way,” she said, being 
locked up was a relief. She took the time to think about what happened. 
She would write letters to God as a way of trying to process her shame.

She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates say she should be freed

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple requested charges following a vehicle pursuit early&nbsp; Saturday. Just after 4a.m. Saturday, a K9 Unit with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen maroon 1996 Chevrolet 1500 pickup near SE 29th Street and SE Wisconsin Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit continued through east Topeka and ended near SE 2nd Street and SE Alkire Street when the vehicle crashed. 

The driver fled the scene on foot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The passenger, Brandon L. Taylor, 24, was taken into custody on scene without further incident.

Around 4:40a.m., the driver, Cassy J. Thomas, 22, was taken into custody.

&nbsp;Thomas and Taylor were both booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. Thomas is being held on requested charges including felony interference with law enforcement. Taylor had three warrants for his arrest and is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; felony flee or attempt to elude, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, possession of stolen property, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675030055008.png" alt="Taylor-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Taylor-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple requested charges following a vehicle pursuit early&nbsp; Saturday. Just after 4a.m. Saturday, a K9 Unit with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen maroon 1996 Chevrolet 1500 pickup near SE 29th Street and SE Wisconsin Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit continued through east Topeka and ended near SE 2nd Street and SE Alkire Street when the vehicle crashed. The driver fled the scene on foot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The passenger, Brandon L. Taylor, 24, was taken into custody on scene without further incident.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675029994428.png" alt="Thomas-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Thomas-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Around 4:40a.m., the driver, Cassy J. Thomas, 22, was taken into custody. &nbsp;Thomas and Taylor were both booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. Thomas is being held on requested charges including felony interference with law enforcement. Taylor had three warrants for his arrest and is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; felony flee or attempt to elude, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, possession of stolen property, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia

Two Kansas men jailed after high-speed chase with stolen pickup

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne &amp; Shirley," has died, her family said Monday.

Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis.

"The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed," the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Williams worked with some of Hollywood's most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George Cukor's 1972 “Travels With My Aunt,” George Lucas' 1973 “American Graffiti” and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" from 1974.

But she was by far best known for “Laverne &amp; Shirley," the “Happy Days” spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.

Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall's more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.

“They were beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.

DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.

“We’d make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had,” Marshall told the AP in 2002. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.”

Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities” but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were “a bit overblown.”

The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: “Give us any chance, we’ll take it, read us any rule, we’ll break it."

That opening would become as popular as the show itself. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.

Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-entertainment-penny-marshall-9b816e06aab5410ab0578ee33fc39dc8">died in 2018</a>.

Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/rosariodawson/status/1620228431224135682">Rosario Dawson</a>&nbsp;shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Absolute gems. United again… Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.”

The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley's oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-michael-mckean-1da7248de5f4bf06d7e2fe19d79e9a31">Lander died in 2020</a>.

McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.

“Backstage, Season 1: I’m offstage waiting for a cue. The script’s been a tough one, so we’re giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Thank you, Cindy.”

As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.

In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands weren’t met, she walked off the set, and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.

Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College.

Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on “Room 222,” “Nanny and the Professor” and ”Love, American Style."

Her part in Lucas' “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. “Happy Days," starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winkler's Fonzie before they got their own show.

Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” a role that went to Carrie Fisher.

In the past three decades, Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a “Laverne &amp; Shirley” tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat.”

Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2022/01/14/cindy-williams-brings-her-one-woman-show-annenberg-theater/6513323001/">Me, Myself and Shirley</a>," at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.

Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 1980s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne &amp; Shirley," has died, her family said Monday.Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis."The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed," the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”Williams worked with some of Hollywood's most elite directors in a film career that preceded her full-time move to television, appearing in George Cukor's 1972 “Travels With My Aunt,” George Lucas' 1973 “American Graffiti” and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" from 1974.But she was by far best known for “Laverne &amp; Shirley," the “Happy Days” spinoff that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983 that in its prime was among the most popular shows on TV.Williams played the straitlaced Shirley Feeney to Marshall's more libertine Laverne DeFazio on the show about a pair of blue-collar roommates who toiled on the assembly line of a Milwaukee brewery in the 1950s and 1960s.“They were beloved characters,” Williams told The Associated Press in 2002.DeFazio was quick-tempered and defensive; Feeney was naive and trusting. The actors drew upon their own lives for plot inspiration.“We’d make up a list at the start of each season of what talents we had,” Marshall told the AP in 2002. “Cindy could touch her tongue to her nose and we used it in the show. I did tap dance.”Williams told The Associated Press in 2013 that she and Marshall had “very different personalities” but tales of the two clashing during the making of the show were “a bit overblown.”The series was the rare network hit about working-class characters, with its self-empowering opening song: “Give us any chance, we’ll take it, read us any rule, we’ll break it."That opening would become as popular as the show itself. Williams’ and Marshall’s chant of “schlemiel, schlimazel” as they skipped along together became a cultural phenomenon and oft-invoked piece of nostalgia.Marshall, whose brother, Garry Marshall, co-created the series,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-ca-state-wire-entertainment-penny-marshall-9b816e06aab5410ab0578ee33fc39dc8">died in 2018</a>.Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/rosariodawson/status/1620228431224135682">Rosario Dawson</a>&nbsp;shared a video of the opening theme on Twitter on Tuesday.“Singing this song with so much gratitude for both of you ladies,” Dawson tweeted. “Absolute gems. United again… Rest in Paradise Cindy Williams.”The show also starred Michael McKean and David Lander as Laverne and Shirley's oddball hangers-on Lenny and Squiggy.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-michael-mckean-1da7248de5f4bf06d7e2fe19d79e9a31">Lander died in 2020</a>.McKean paid tribute to Williams on Twitter with a memory from the production.“Backstage, Season 1: I’m offstage waiting for a cue. The script’s been a tough one, so we’re giving it 110% and the audience is having a great time,” McKean tweeted. “Cindy scoots by me to make her entrance and with a glorious grin, says: ‘Show’s cookin’!’ Amen. Thank you, Cindy.”As ratings dropped in the sixth season, the characters moved from Milwaukee to Burbank, California, trading their brewery jobs for work at a department store.In 1982, Williams became pregnant and wanted her working hours curtailed. When her demands weren’t met, she walked off the set, and filed a lawsuit against its production company. She appeared infrequently during the final season.Williams was born one of two sisters in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles in 1947. Her family moved to Dallas soon after she was born, but returned to Los Angeles, where she would take up acting while attending Birmingham High School and a major in theater arts at LA City College.Her acting career began with small roles in television starting in 1969, with appearances on “Room 222,” “Nanny and the Professor” and ”Love, American Style."Her part in Lucas' “American Graffiti” would become a defining role. The film was a forerunner to a nostalgia boom for the 1950s and early 1960s that would follow. “Happy Days," starring her “American Graffiti” co-star Ron Howard, would premiere the following year. The characters of Laverne and Shirley made their first TV appearance as dates of Henry Winkler's Fonzie before they got their own show.Lucas also considered her for the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” a role that went to Carrie Fisher.In the past three decades, Williams made guest appearances on dozens of TV series including “7th Heaven,” “8 Simple Rules” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” In 2013, she and Marshall appeared in a “Laverne &amp; Shirley” tribute episode of the Nickelodeon series “Sam and Cat.”Last year, Williams appeared in a one-woman stage show full of stories from her career, “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/2022/01/14/cindy-williams-brings-her-one-woman-show-annenberg-theater/6513323001/">Me, Myself and Shirley</a>," at a theater in Palm Springs, California, near her home in Desert Hot Springs.Williams was married to singer Bill Hudson of musical group the Hudson Brothers from 1982 until 2000. Hudson was father to her two children. He was previously married to Goldie Hawn and is also the father of actor Kate Hudson.___

'Laverne & Shirley' actor Cindy Williams dies at 75

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an injury accident involving a Wichita Police Department vehicle.

Just before 11:50p.m. Sunday, a 2020 Ford Explorer driven by Officer&nbsp; Mario Ocon, 22 of Wichita and Officer Brennan A. Harris, 31, Goddard, were westbound on 13th Street North responding with their emergency lights and sirens activated to assist officers in a vehicle pursuit in Central Wichita, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

The SUV collided with a southbound 2015 Ford Fusion driven by Kiera Y. Evans, 21 Wichita, at the intersection of 13th and Mosely.

EMS transported Evans to St. Francis Hospital. A 9-month old boy in the Ford and the two officers also suffered minor injuries, according to Officer Chad Ditch. 

Authorities did not report where the child or the officers were treated.&nbsp; Evans was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

The Kansas High Patrol is in charge of the investigation for transparency and accountability purposes, according to Ditch.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an injury accident involving a Wichita Police Department vehicle.Just before 11:50p.m. Sunday, a 2020 Ford Explorer driven by Officer&nbsp; Mario Ocon, 22 of Wichita and Officer Brennan A. Harris, 31, Goddard, were westbound on 13th Street North responding with their emergency lights and sirens activated to assist officers in a vehicle pursuit in Central Wichita, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.The SUV collided with a southbound 2015 Ford Fusion driven by Kiera Y. Evans, 21 Wichita, at the intersection of 13th and Mosely.EMS transported Evans to St. Francis Hospital. A 9-month old boy in the Ford and the two officers also suffered minor injuries, according to Officer Chad Ditch. Authorities did not report where the child or the officers were treated.&nbsp; Evans was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.The Kansas High Patrol is in charge of the investigation for transparency and accountability purposes, according to Ditch.

Kan. woman, 9-month-old injured in crash with police SUV

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Wamego Police Department, and the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a man’s death after he was found Sunday afternoon at a residence in Wamego, Kansas.

Just after 1 p.m., on Sunday, a man called 911 after finding his friend dead inside a residence at 1001 Ash St., Lot 29, in Wamego, according to a media release from the KBI.

When officers from the Wamego Police Department arrived, they located the man on the floor of the bathroom. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. As the case unfolded, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and the KBI were asked to assist in the investigation.

The man has not yet been positively identified. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. There is no threat to the public, according to the KBI.

"Death investigations may be determined to be the result of homicide, suicide, natural causes, or an accident."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675120537689.jpeg" alt="-Wamego Police Department outside residence at 1001 Ash St. in Wamego, picture submitted by a community member" />
 <figcaption>-Wamego Police Department outside residence at 1001 Ash St. in Wamego, picture submitted by a community member</figcaption>
 </figure>POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Wamego Police Department, and the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a man’s death after he was found Sunday afternoon at a residence in Wamego, Kansas.Just after 1 p.m., on Sunday, a man called 911 after finding his friend dead inside a residence at 1001 Ash St., Lot 29, in Wamego, according to a media release from the KBI.When officers from the Wamego Police Department arrived, they located the man on the floor of the bathroom. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. As the case unfolded, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and the KBI were asked to assist in the investigation.The man has not yet been positively identified. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday. There is no threat to the public, according to the KBI."Death investigations may be determined to be the result of homicide, suicide, natural causes, or an accident."

KBI working to ID man found dead in Kansas home

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/29/scuffle-over-kellys-nominee-to-court-of-appeals-foreshadows-bigger-fight-over-supreme-court/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate unanimously confirmed Kansas Court of 
Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering despite alarms set off by Republicans 
about judicial criticism leveled against her decisions as appellate 
defense counsel in a 15-year-old criminal case.

The Republican-dominated Senate voted to make Pickering, a Shawnee 
County District Court judge, the first Hispanic on the state Court of 
Appeals.

The old case and glass-ceiling issues could become footnotes to a 
larger political effort by conservatives in the Kansas Legislature to 
build momentum for an amendment to the Kansas Constitution requiring 
Senate confirmation of nominees to the Kansas Supreme Court. In 2013, 
then-Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill adopting the federal model of 
Senate advice and consent for Court of Appeals nominees. To strip Kansas
 governors of power to make direct appointments to the Supreme Court, 
however, would require amending the constitution.

Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican from Havana in southeast Kansas, 
echoed praise from Republicans and Democrats for Pickering’s experience 
as a judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. He joined a chorus of GOP 
colleagues who denounced Gov. Laura Kelly for not providing the Senate 
Judiciary Committee with information about the Court of Appeals’ 
criticism of Pickering’s approach to appeal of a criminal conviction.

“I was disappointed, frustrated. I could use several adjectives, but 
will stop there,” Peck said. “Is this a one-time experience? I don’t 
know. My conspiracy mind would tend to say, ‘No.’ Probably happened 
before, just didn’t learn about it.”

Peck, pivoting to the deeper political issue, said the experience 
with Pickering’s nomination raised the possibility Kelly swept under the
 rug unflattering information about the governor’s three appointees to 
the Supreme Court. In 2020, Kelly appointed Keynen Wall, Evelyn Wilson 
and Melissa Standridge to the state’s highest court from among finalists
 selected by a nominating commission. In November’s statewide election, 
Kansans voted to retain all three justices by two-thirds majorities.

“We have three individuals on the Supreme Court that were appointed 
by our current governor,” Peck said. “We did not have an opportunity to 
weigh in as legislators, as senators, on whether they should sit on the 
highest court in the state of Kansas.”

Fellow Republican Sen. J.R. Claeys of Salina said the Senate 
Judiciary Committee discovered in the court record justification for 
questioning Pickering’s qualificiations to serve on the Court of 
Appeals. He said the governor was aware of the controversy, but didn’t 
share that with the Senate committee. The governor’s lack of disclosure 
demonstrated the value of Senate confirmation for members of the 
judicial branch, he said.

“Unfortunately,” Claeys said, “Senate confirmation does not yet 
exist for the Kansas Supreme Court, resulting in a selection process 
that is largely shielded from public scrutiny. That is why reforming our
 method of judicial selection is so important. The people must have 
input.”

Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat, attorney and member of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was a strong supporter of 
Pickering’s nomination.

He said questions raised by senators about her decisions 15 years ago
 to abandon a line of appeal regarding evidence against the accused was 
relevant to consideration of her nomination to the Court of Appeals. 
Those issues should be looked at in context of a career as a criminal 
defense and prosecuting attorney as well as years working on appellate 
cases before the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, he said.

“I do think Judge Pickering, in terms of background, reputation, 
depth of experience is really in a class by herself,” Corson said.

He said debate about Pickering during the Senate committee’s 
deliberations foreshadowed resurgence of a proposed constitutional 
amendment that narrowly fell short of the needed two-thirds majority in 
the Senate during the 2022 session. It approved by the House and Senate 
and by statewide voters, the amendment would prevent governors from 
making direct appointments to the Supreme Court. Instead, governors 
would nominate individuals to the Supreme Court for the final decision 
made by the Senate.

Opponents of the change believe placing the Senate in charge of 
Supreme Court confirmations would undercut the executive branch’s role 
in the judiciary. Republicans have maintained House and Senate 
majorities over Democrats since 1993.

“I think this is an argument you will see going forward for bringing 
back the same amendment that failed last year,” Corson said. “The result
 would be politicization of the courts at a time when we desperately 
need to try to turn down the temperature and depoliticize things.”

House Democratic leader Vic Miller, a Topeka attorney and former 
municipal judge, said Senate Republicans thought they ferreted out a 
smoking gun in the Pickering nomination. He said the Pickering 
controversy was intended to persuade Kanas votes that governors couldn’t
 be trusted to make appointments to the Supreme Court.

“In fact,” Miller said, “their inability to comprehend the very 
complicated nuances of this legal situation is a clear illustration of 
why politics do not belong in the confirmation process. The Senate has 
no business confirming our justices, as evidenced by their 
politically-driven witch hunt that ultimately ended with a unanimous 
vote.”

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, proposed in 
2022 a constitutional amendment designed to end influence of the Supreme
 Court nominating commission and repeal the merit-based selection 
process inserted into the Kansas Constitution in 1958.

Masterson and other GOP lawmakers said membership on the nine-member 
nominating commission was tilted toward members of the Kansas Bar 
Association. He said the current vetting process for applicants to the 
Supreme Court failed to provide “the people any real input in the 
judicial selection process,” led to a seven-member Supreme Court that 
issued “extreme” decisions on abortion law and ran afoul of the nation’s
 tradition of government checks and balances.

In 2019, the Senate dismissed a 
resolution making constitutional changes necessary so the process of 
reviewing Supreme Court nominations mirrored state law guiding Senate 
confirmation of nominees to the Court of Appeals. The House passed a 
comparable measure in 2016, but not by the two-thirds majority required 
to advance constitutional amendments.

Since 2014, the Kansas Senate confirmed nine of 10 nominees to the 
Court of Appeals. The lone rejection — twice —was Carl Folsom, who 
devoted much of his legal career to work as a federal and state public 
defender. His second rejection led Kelly to declare “legislative leaders
 are still putting partisan politics ahead of their constitutionally 
mandated duties.”

Under this Senate confirmation process, Brownback placed two people 
on the Court of Appeals. The first, Caleb Stegall, was controversial 
because he was general counsel in the governor’s office. It triggered a 
rebuke from the House Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence, who 
disagreed with Brownback’s nomination of “well-connected, partisan 
pals.” Brownback later appointed Stegall to the Supreme Court.

Six of Kelly’s nominees to the 14-member state Court of Appeals — all women — have survived Senate review since 2019.

In August, Kelly nominated Pickering to fill a vacancy on the Court 
of Appeals. The governor had previously appointed her to the Shawnee 
County District Court in 2019. Pickering’s legal career included work as
 an appellate defender, public defender, assistant district attorney and
 assistant solicitor general.

Pickering had argued 35 cases before the Supreme Court, 40 in front 
of the Court of Appeals and authored more than 300 legal briefs. As an 
appellate defender, Pickering worked on felony cases from all 105 Kansas
 counties. She was responsible for criminal cases as a public defender 
and a prosecutor in Shawnee County. She also was involved in felony 
cases and federal appeals in the office of the state attorney general.

On Jan. 17, Pickering was called before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee to discuss her nomination to the Court of Appeals. Pickering 
and the governor’s office were informed in advance by Republican Sen. 
Kellie Warren, the committee’s chairwoman and an attorney from Lenexa, 
the committee would explore Pickering’s work for the Kansas Appellate 
Defender’s Office on behalf of a convicted felon.

On appeal, the Court of Appeals had concluded Pickering’s approach in
 that case was “objectively unreasonable” and raised the issue of 
ineffective counsel.

Pickering, who appeared for a second day of questioning by the Senate
 Judiciary Committee, said courts traditionally deferred on issues of 
strategy to appellate counsel. To do otherwise, she said, would result 
in judges or justices engaging in “Monday morning quarterbacking.” She 
said the experience of being doubted by the Court of Appeals led her to 
participate in “best practice” sessions to help other attorneys working 
in the appellate arena.

“There wasn’t an effort to hide this at all,” Pickering said. 
“Appellate practice can be harsh. It helps if you can lead the way with 
others. You have to be humble when you teach that continuing legal 
education.”

She said no disciplinary case was brought against her. Issues raised 
in the criminal appeal were later overturned and the Court of Appeals 
decision in that criminal case was no longer considered “good law,” she 
said.

Warren, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s chairwoman and an 
unsuccessful candidate last year for attorney general, said a larger 
question was Kelly’s decision to keep the Senate in the dark. Warren 
praised Pickering for meeting individually with senators and speaking 
with the committee about her recollection of the appellate case.

“The issue is not the candidate, but the process,” said Senate Vice 
President Rick Wilborn, R-McPherson. “There was a failure that could 
have been disasterous. I think this is an example of the confirmation 
process working. I’m disappointed the governor’s office failed to 
provide information in a timely manner. I want to see the process 
improved going forward.”

When the dust settled, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 
unanimously to endorse confirmation of Pickering to the Court of 
Appeals. The full Senate’s final vote: 37-0.

“Rachel is a committed public servant as an attorney and judge,” 
Kelly said. “Her experience in nearly every area of criminal litigation 
will provide her with great insight as she serves the Kansas Court of 
Appeals.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096551806.png" alt="Shawnee County District Court Judge Rachel Pickering was confirmed by the Kansas Senate to a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals, but her nomination provided some Senate Republicans with justification to call for a change in the Kansas Constitution to require Senate confirmation of appointees to the Kansas Supreme Court. (Kansas Reflector screen capture fro Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Shawnee County District Court Judge Rachel Pickering was confirmed by the Kansas Senate to a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals, but her nomination provided some Senate Republicans with justification to call for a change in the Kansas Constitution to require Senate confirmation of appointees to the Kansas Supreme Court. (Kansas Reflector screen capture fro Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/29/scuffle-over-kellys-nominee-to-court-of-appeals-foreshadows-bigger-fight-over-supreme-court/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate unanimously confirmed Kansas Court of 
Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering despite alarms set off by Republicans 
about judicial criticism leveled against her decisions as appellate 
defense counsel in a 15-year-old criminal case.The Republican-dominated Senate voted to make Pickering, a Shawnee 
County District Court judge, the first Hispanic on the state Court of 
Appeals.The old case and glass-ceiling issues could become footnotes to a 
larger political effort by conservatives in the Kansas Legislature to 
build momentum for an amendment to the Kansas Constitution requiring 
Senate confirmation of nominees to the Kansas Supreme Court. In 2013, 
then-Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill adopting the federal model of 
Senate advice and consent for Court of Appeals nominees. To strip Kansas
 governors of power to make direct appointments to the Supreme Court, 
however, would require amending the constitution.Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican from Havana in southeast Kansas, 
echoed praise from Republicans and Democrats for Pickering’s experience 
as a judge, prosecutor and defense attorney. He joined a chorus of GOP 
colleagues who denounced Gov. Laura Kelly for not providing the Senate 
Judiciary Committee with information about the Court of Appeals’ 
criticism of Pickering’s approach to appeal of a criminal conviction.“I was disappointed, frustrated. I could use several adjectives, but 
will stop there,” Peck said. “Is this a one-time experience? I don’t 
know. My conspiracy mind would tend to say, ‘No.’ Probably happened 
before, just didn’t learn about it.”Peck, pivoting to the deeper political issue, said the experience 
with Pickering’s nomination raised the possibility Kelly swept under the
 rug unflattering information about the governor’s three appointees to 
the Supreme Court. In 2020, Kelly appointed Keynen Wall, Evelyn Wilson 
and Melissa Standridge to the state’s highest court from among finalists
 selected by a nominating commission. In November’s statewide election, 
Kansans voted to retain all three justices by two-thirds majorities.“We have three individuals on the Supreme Court that were appointed 
by our current governor,” Peck said. “We did not have an opportunity to 
weigh in as legislators, as senators, on whether they should sit on the 
highest court in the state of Kansas.”Fellow Republican Sen. J.R. Claeys of Salina said the Senate 
Judiciary Committee discovered in the court record justification for 
questioning Pickering’s qualificiations to serve on the Court of 
Appeals. He said the governor was aware of the controversy, but didn’t 
share that with the Senate committee. The governor’s lack of disclosure 
demonstrated the value of Senate confirmation for members of the 
judicial branch, he said.“Unfortunately,” Claeys said, “Senate confirmation does not yet 
exist for the Kansas Supreme Court, resulting in a selection process 
that is largely shielded from public scrutiny. That is why reforming our
 method of judicial selection is so important. The people must have 
input.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096616691.png" alt="Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican from Havana, said Gov. Laura Kelly’s decision to withhold from the Kansas Senate information about Kansas Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering suggested time had come to amend the Kansas Constitution to require Senate review of nominees to the Kansas Supreme Court. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Virgil Peck, a Republican from Havana, said Gov. Laura Kelly’s decision to withhold from the Kansas Senate information about Kansas Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering suggested time had come to amend the Kansas Constitution to require Senate review of nominees to the Kansas Supreme Court. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Different perspectives</h2>Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat, attorney and member of the 
Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was a strong supporter of 
Pickering’s nomination.He said questions raised by senators about her decisions 15 years ago
 to abandon a line of appeal regarding evidence against the accused was 
relevant to consideration of her nomination to the Court of Appeals. 
Those issues should be looked at in context of a career as a criminal 
defense and prosecuting attorney as well as years working on appellate 
cases before the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, he said.“I do think Judge Pickering, in terms of background, reputation, 
depth of experience is really in a class by herself,” Corson said.He said debate about Pickering during the Senate committee’s 
deliberations foreshadowed resurgence of a proposed constitutional 
amendment that narrowly fell short of the needed two-thirds majority in 
the Senate during the 2022 session. It approved by the House and Senate 
and by statewide voters, the amendment would prevent governors from 
making direct appointments to the Supreme Court. Instead, governors 
would nominate individuals to the Supreme Court for the final decision 
made by the Senate.Opponents of the change believe placing the Senate in charge of 
Supreme Court confirmations would undercut the executive branch’s role 
in the judiciary. Republicans have maintained House and Senate 
majorities over Democrats since 1993.“I think this is an argument you will see going forward for bringing 
back the same amendment that failed last year,” Corson said. “The result
 would be politicization of the courts at a time when we desperately 
need to try to turn down the temperature and depoliticize things.”House Democratic leader Vic Miller, a Topeka attorney and former 
municipal judge, said Senate Republicans thought they ferreted out a 
smoking gun in the Pickering nomination. He said the Pickering 
controversy was intended to persuade Kanas votes that governors couldn’t
 be trusted to make appointments to the Supreme Court.“In fact,” Miller said, “their inability to comprehend the very 
complicated nuances of this legal situation is a clear illustration of 
why politics do not belong in the confirmation process. The Senate has 
no business confirming our justices, as evidenced by their 
politically-driven witch hunt that ultimately ended with a unanimous 
vote.”Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, proposed in 
2022 a constitutional amendment designed to end influence of the Supreme
 Court nominating commission and repeal the merit-based selection 
process inserted into the Kansas Constitution in 1958.Masterson and other GOP lawmakers said membership on the nine-member 
nominating commission was tilted toward members of the Kansas Bar 
Association. He said the current vetting process for applicants to the 
Supreme Court failed to provide “the people any real input in the 
judicial selection process,” led to a seven-member Supreme Court that 
issued “extreme” decisions on abortion law and ran afoul of the nation’s
 tradition of government checks and balances.In 2019, the Senate dismissed a 
resolution making constitutional changes necessary so the process of 
reviewing Supreme Court nominations mirrored state law guiding Senate 
confirmation of nominees to the Court of Appeals. The House passed a 
comparable measure in 2016, but not by the two-thirds majority required 
to advance constitutional amendments.Since 2014, the Kansas Senate confirmed nine of 10 nominees to the 
Court of Appeals. The lone rejection — twice —was Carl Folsom, who 
devoted much of his legal career to work as a federal and state public 
defender. His second rejection led Kelly to declare “legislative leaders
 are still putting partisan politics ahead of their constitutionally 
mandated duties.”Under this Senate confirmation process, Brownback placed two people 
on the Court of Appeals. The first, Caleb Stegall, was controversial 
because he was general counsel in the governor’s office. It triggered a 
rebuke from the House Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence, who 
disagreed with Brownback’s nomination of “well-connected, partisan 
pals.” Brownback later appointed Stegall to the Supreme Court.Six of Kelly’s nominees to the 14-member state Court of Appeals — all women — have survived Senate review since 2019.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096657926.png" alt="Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was “disappointed” Gov. Laura Kelly failed to respect the Senate confirmation process by shielding information about a legal controversy in the career of Kansas Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Pickering to the state Court of Appeals. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she was “disappointed” Gov. Laura Kelly failed to respect the Senate confirmation process by shielding information about a legal controversy in the career of Kansas Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Pickering to the state Court of Appeals. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The backstory</h2>In August, Kelly nominated Pickering to fill a vacancy on the Court 
of Appeals. The governor had previously appointed her to the Shawnee 
County District Court in 2019. Pickering’s legal career included work as
 an appellate defender, public defender, assistant district attorney and
 assistant solicitor general.Pickering had argued 35 cases before the Supreme Court, 40 in front 
of the Court of Appeals and authored more than 300 legal briefs. As an 
appellate defender, Pickering worked on felony cases from all 105 Kansas
 counties. She was responsible for criminal cases as a public defender 
and a prosecutor in Shawnee County. She also was involved in felony 
cases and federal appeals in the office of the state attorney general.On Jan. 17, Pickering was called before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee to discuss her nomination to the Court of Appeals. Pickering 
and the governor’s office were informed in advance by Republican Sen. 
Kellie Warren, the committee’s chairwoman and an attorney from Lenexa, 
the committee would explore Pickering’s work for the Kansas Appellate 
Defender’s Office on behalf of a convicted felon.On appeal, the Court of Appeals had concluded Pickering’s approach in
 that case was “objectively unreasonable” and raised the issue of 
ineffective counsel.Pickering, who appeared for a second day of questioning by the Senate
 Judiciary Committee, said courts traditionally deferred on issues of 
strategy to appellate counsel. To do otherwise, she said, would result 
in judges or justices engaging in “Monday morning quarterbacking.” She 
said the experience of being doubted by the Court of Appeals led her to 
participate in “best practice” sessions to help other attorneys working 
in the appellate arena.“There wasn’t an effort to hide this at all,” Pickering said. 
“Appellate practice can be harsh. It helps if you can lead the way with 
others. You have to be humble when you teach that continuing legal 
education.”She said no disciplinary case was brought against her. Issues raised 
in the criminal appeal were later overturned and the Court of Appeals 
decision in that criminal case was no longer considered “good law,” she 
said.Warren, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s chairwoman and an 
unsuccessful candidate last year for attorney general, said a larger 
question was Kelly’s decision to keep the Senate in the dark. Warren 
praised Pickering for meeting individually with senators and speaking 
with the committee about her recollection of the appellate case.“The issue is not the candidate, but the process,” said Senate Vice 
President Rick Wilborn, R-McPherson. “There was a failure that could 
have been disasterous. I think this is an example of the confirmation 
process working. I’m disappointed the governor’s office failed to 
provide information in a timely manner. I want to see the process 
improved going forward.”When the dust settled, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 
unanimously to endorse confirmation of Pickering to the Court of 
Appeals. The full Senate’s final vote: 37-0.“Rachel is a committed public servant as an attorney and judge,” 
Kelly said. “Her experience in nearly every area of criminal litigation 
will provide her with great insight as she serves the Kansas Court of 
Appeals.”

Scuffle over nominee foreshadows fight over Kan. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON —The only thing stopping millions of Americans from receiving the Biden Administration’s one-time student debt relief is a lawsuit brought by Republican officials and special interests, according to Biden. On Saturday, he said on social media, "It's simple: our Administration is confident that our student debt relief program is fully legal. And we're not backing down that easy."

New data comes as elected officials and special interests actively block many of their own constituents from getting relief, according to a statement from the White House.

On Friday, the Biden administration released new data showing the number of people in each state who applied for student debt relief or were automatically eligible for relief.&nbsp;228,000 in Kansas applied for and were deemed automatically eligible.&nbsp;

These borrowers could be benefitting from the Administration’s program right now were it not for lawsuits brought by elected officials and special interests, according to the Biden Administration.

In August, President Biden announced his Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Administration’s program aimed to protect borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default as a result of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic when the payment pause ends.

In the less than four weeks that the application was available, 26 million people either applied for debt relief or had already provided sufficient information to the Department of Education (Department) to be deemed eligible for relief. Over 16 million of those borrowers’ applications were fully approved by the Department and sent to loan servicers. However, in November of last year– less than a month after the application was first released – the Department was required to stop accepting applications as a result of lawsuits brought by opponents of the program. Loan servicers were thus prevented from discharging any debt.

WASHINGTON —The only thing stopping millions of Americans from receiving the Biden Administration’s one-time student debt relief is a lawsuit brought by Republican officials and special interests, according to Biden. On Saturday, he said on social media, "It's simple: our Administration is confident that our student debt relief program is fully legal. And we're not backing down that easy."New data comes as elected officials and special interests actively block many of their own constituents from getting relief, according to a statement from the White House.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Extra breathing room for millions of Americans is on hold because of lawsuits brought by opponents of this Administration’s student debt relief plan. We are continuing to fight to deliver relief to tens of millions of eligible borrowers. <a href="https://t.co/COoBN9s8vR">pic.twitter.com/COoBN9s8vR</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1619417542698700801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On Friday, the Biden administration released new data showing the number of people in each state who applied for student debt relief or were automatically eligible for relief.&nbsp;228,000 in Kansas applied for and were deemed automatically eligible.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674936435362.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>These borrowers could be benefitting from the Administration’s program right now were it not for lawsuits brought by elected officials and special interests, according to the Biden Administration.In August, President Biden announced his Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Administration’s program aimed to protect borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default as a result of hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic when the payment pause ends.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our student debt relief plan would allow more than 40 million Americans to breathe easier, getting folks who need it up to $20,000 in relief. Republican officials are standing in the way. This Administration doesn&#39;t back down that easy–we&#39;re fighting back in the Supreme Court.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1614345261609848833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the less than four weeks that the application was available, 26 million people either applied for debt relief or had already provided sufficient information to the Department of Education (Department) to be deemed eligible for relief. Over 16 million of those borrowers’ applications were fully approved by the Department and sent to loan servicers. However, in November of last year– less than a month after the application was first released – the Department was required to stop accepting applications as a result of lawsuits brought by opponents of the program. Loan servicers were thus prevented from discharging any debt.Overall, more than 40 million borrowers would qualify for the Biden Administration’s debt relief program. Nearly 90% of the benefits of the relief going to out-of-school borrowers would go to those earning less than $75,000 per year. Millions of those borrowers could be experiencing the benefits of that relief today – were it not for lawsuits brought on by elected officials in some of their own states. For more information, visit StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/27/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-releases-new-data-showing-26-million-people-in-all-50-states-applied-or-were-automatically-eligible-for-one-time-student-debt-relief/">Click here to see</a> a full breakdown of how many people applied for debt relief and whose applications were approved by the Department before the Administration was blocked from discharging debt, rounded to the nearest thousand.