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Kansas City Today

A 'two-tiered system of justice' in Kansas

By Nomin Ujiyediin,
Trevor Grandin, Byron J. Love
Published August 23, 2022 at 4:00 AM CDT
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A loophole in Kansas state law allows probation to be extended indefinitely for failure to pay court costs, fines or restitution. For those who are too poor to afford those costs, it could mean probation for the rest of their lives — which also means losing the right to vote.

A case before the Kansas Court of Appeals could have far reaching effects on the state's justice system — where people who can't afford to pay court dues are held to a different standard than those who can. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with the Kansas Reflector's Sherman Smith about indefinite probation for poor Kansans.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR onTwitter andFacebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin, and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate

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Kansas City Today Kansascriminal justicecriminal justice reform
Nomin Ujiyediin
As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
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Trevor Grandin
Trevor Grandin is a contributing producer for KCUR Studios.
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Byron J. Love
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
See stories by Byron J. Love
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