Judge rules Kansas Highway Patrol ‘two-step’ unconstitutional

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KWCH) – A federal judge has ruled that the Kansas Highway Patrol violated the constitutional rights of motorists and has ordered the KHP to stop its policies and practices of detaining motorists without reasonable suspicion.

The practice, commonly known as the Kansas Two Step, is a tactic in which troopers at the end of a traffic stop take a couple of steps toward their patrol vehicle before turning around to initiate a voluntary interaction with the driver. The tactic would allow for extra time to look for incriminating information or to get drug-sniffing dogs to a location.

“The Kansas Highway Patrol (”KHP”) has waged war on motorists—especially out-of-state residents traveling between Colorado and Missouri on federal highway I-70 in Kansas,” U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil wrote in an order filed on Friday.

If the injunction stands, Judge Vratil said moving forward, a trooper who seeks to re-engage with a driver or occupant of a vehicle, after a traffic stop has concluded, must “affirmatively inform the subject of his or her right to refuse and to revoke consent at any time, and document the subject’s consent on a written form which explains these rights.”

“The written form shall include separate signature lines for the trooper to certify that the trooper has read and explained these rights to the subject, and for the subject to affirm that he or she understands the right to refuse and to revoke consent to the search,” court documents state.

The KHP was sued in 2019 by the ACLU on behalf of several people who were subject to the two-step strategy. The ACLU called the ruling a huge win for those driving on Kansas highways. The lawsuit’s parties have until the middle of August to respond to the terms of a possible injunction.

Read the full ruling here.

Copyright 2023 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com