Making A Freedom Of Information Act Request

While talking with several Kansas crime victims and their families, from different parts of Kansas, it became abundantly clear to me that the Kansas judicial community not only plays a vicious game of favorites, but at times when it is inconvenient to actually solve a crime and pursue justice, either because the suspect is someone deemed important, the suspect is the child of someone deemed important, or the crime was done so expertly that law enforcement in Kansas is unable to solve it; courts and police departments will actually withhold information from victims and family members, and tell them that pertinent cases are closed, without providing documentation that said pertinent cases are closed. This is usually a stalling tactic, but can sometimes be subterfuge, specifically to protect favored guilty parties. Either way, while some information, during an investigation, can be legally withheld; if an investigation is closed, a parent has the right to know how his child died, a family has the right to know about important updates in a missing persons case, and a crime victim has the right to be informed of progress in relevant criminal proceedings.

The Freedom Of Information Act, or the FOIA, was enacted in 1966, and serves as a simple vehicle
for discovery of facts that are legally available to the individual seeking these facts. One may write a letter to an organization or individual, citing the latest update of the FOIA, and request the information. For example, "In accordance with the Freedom Of Information Act Of 2012, (or the most recent update of the law) I am requesting the files you refused to release to me via personal request." Sometimes it is a good idea to offer reimbursement for postage or shipping. One should name the specific information desired, and tell the reader why one is legally entitled to this information. This needs to be done in writing, and copies of all written communication should be
saved. Should the agency to whom the request is made refuse to cooperate, a written answer should be supplied to the petitioner. If the requested information truly belongs to the petitioner as well as the respondent, it can be used later in court, showing the lack of cooperation. In the event of cover-up or suppression of evidence, it can be a very serious ethics violation, depending on which agency suppresses information. In Kansas, there may not always be a lawyer available to represent victims of the mockery we call law enforcement, but there are some major media covering several cases wherein the Freedom Of Information Act has factored in one way or another, and copies of unlawful refusals can easily be scanned and published.

These copies make really good pictures and illustrations in the absence of pictures of the cowards who refuse to come forward with requested discovery and information.