A Judge misusing per position to harass media?
Yet another case for why Judicial Immunity must be curbed. Judge Laura Viar, having been arrested for two DUIs in her career, has been caught issuing a search warrant against The Marion County Record that was investigating an associate of hers who owned a restaurant. She issued a search warrant that caused the paper to have its computers, records, and phones seized. The investigation was surrounding restaurant owner’s Kari Newell’s DUI history. It is unclear exactly what the relationship is between Judge Viar and Newell, however, Viar’s past clearly makes it unlikely for her to be impartial.
The first arrest [for Viar] — in Coffey County, about an hour and 15 minutes southeast of her home in Council Grove, on Jan. 25, 2012 — has not been reported. The second — in Morris County on Aug. 6, 2012 — came amid an unopposed reelection bid for Morris County attorney. She was not supposed to be driving because her driver’s license was suspended in the Coffey County case, court records show. She reportedly drove off-road and crashed into a school building next to Council Grove’s football field while driving then-8th District Magistrate Judge Thomas Ball’s vehicle. The Morris County arrest likely would have been a violation of her diversion agreement in Coffey County. But court records indicate prosecutors in Coffey County didn’t know about the Morris County case. And the earlier Coffey County DUI was not disclosed to the public in Morris County, where she was standing for reelection. Because of Ball’s closeness to the case, all of the 8th District’s judges recused themselves from handling Viar’s second DUI case and a special prosecutor — Wabaunsee County Attorney Norbert Marek Jr., who was later appointed by former Gov. Sam Brownback as 6th District judge — was assigned to handle the criminal prosecution, according to a report by WIBW. It’s unclear what happened next. The case does not exist in the state’s court records system, and no follow-up articles appear in any publicly available newspaper archives. Marek did not immediately respond to questions sent to the 6th District.
Read more at: https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article278237263.html
Based on the article above, it appears she had her record ignored, changed her name, and is now operating from the bench with immunity. Why does this matter? Local media are outlets are critical in being able to hold judges and attorneys responsible as the legal system cannot. This is the reason why when a citizen seeks out media coverage of legal abuse, they are often stonewalled. Defending against judicial retribution is painful, expensive, and can be dangerous. Many times these judges have friends in high places that can exert pressure on individuals within these organizations. Will we see justice for Judge Liar Viar? We will check in and see.
Until then, this type of case is one of the causes of the slow degradation of our democracy. While the federal government cannot easily curb free speech (though they are trying via private media), when the local legal machine is able to do so with impunity, freedom of dies and corruption thrives. These bad actors must be removed from positions of power. They are easily bought and influenced by the worst of humanity.