Law

After former Kansas City Police officer Eric DeValkanaere was convicted of killing unarmed Black man Cameron Lamb, there's been speculation — and protest — about his potential pardon by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.

An investigation by the Kansas City Star found that Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody, who was behind the highly-criticized raid on the local newspaper, left his previous job at the Kansas City Police Department under scrutiny. Cody faced a demotion and was being investigated for his sexist treatment of a fellow officer.

The Marion County attorney withdrew the search warrant that police used to justify a raid on the Marion County Record last Friday, and all seized items were returned. But, the newspaper's lawyer says the fight isn't over.

Police seized computers, cell phones and documents during raids on the offices of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher on Friday. Now, the lawyer for the newspaper is speaking out.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Now, borrowers in Kansas City and around the country are figuring out what that means for them.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action on Thursday, outlawing race as a factor in college admissions. It was a 6-3 decision split between the conservative and liberal wings of the court.

CNN senior Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic dives into the highest court in the land's hard conservative shift in her new book, "Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court's Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences."

A Chicago-based Catholic law firm called the Thomas More Society has spent decades focused on their main mission: outlawing all abortions. Part of their strategy also includes casting doubt on the integrity of U.S. elections. Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, whose law license was suspended indefinitely by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2013, is among their strategists.

A judge in St. Louis ruled on Tuesday that Lamar Johnson should be freed after two people provided testimony that absolved Johnson in the 1994 killing of Marcus Boyd.

Missouri allowed the first dispensaries to begin selling recreational marijuana this past Friday, which permits anyone over the age of 21 to purchase. But now those incarcerated for marijuana offenses are struggling to get their records expunged.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey says "all legal options are on the table" to punish Columbia Public Schools for a drag show that around 30 students also attended. The school district and the drag performance group Nclusion Plus have repeatedly rebutted the Attorney General's claims, explaining that the show was "G-rated" and not sexual in nature.

On Jan. 9, Candice Alcaraz, a former assistant district attorney, was sworn in as the first Black female judge in the history of Wyandotte County, Kansas.