Kansas
Kansas Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Kelly v. Kobach case
Kansas AG Kris Kobach and Gov. Laura Kelly’s attorney on Supreme Court
Hear from Kansas AG Kris Kobach and Gov. Laura Kelly’s attorney after Supreme Court case
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the legal team for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly presented oral arguments to the Supreme Court in a case that could decide if the governor has authority to join legislation on her office’s behalf.
Kelly sued Kobach in October after Kobach filed an amicus brief, a legal document offering information or experience, in a lawsuit Kelly signed on as a party to. Kelly joined the suit, which is against the Trump administration over its collection of data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but Kobach’s brief said Kelly doesn’t have the right to enter a lawsuit representing Kansas.
“This case is about whether the Governor can intrude into the area where the Kansas Constitution says the Attorney General is the official who’s in charge, namely, litigating in court on behalf of Kansans,” Kobach told reporters after court adjourned.
The governor’s position in court is that she has a right to participate in legislation if it pertains to her duties as governor.
“What we’re simply asking for is that the governor be allowed to have a voice in litigation when the matters or the issues affect the executive branch and the agencies she’s in charge of,” said Stephen McAllister, an attorney for Kelly.
Kobach said the distinction between representing the state and representing the interest of Kansas’s executive agencies is usually nonexistent.
“They are trying to say there’s a difference between representing the interests of my agency and representing the state of Kansas. Ninety-nine percent of the time, there is no difference,” Kobach said.
The scope of Kelly’s authority was a point of contention. At the start of the hearing, McAllister conceded that their legal briefs “may not have always been completely clear.”
Kobach told the justices that the governor’s offices is retreating from the scope in its briefs, and they previously said they could direct the attorney general to sue and that they may litigate on behalf of the state.
Justices peppered both sides with questions throughout arguments. Justice Dan Biles questioned whether it could lead to too much power vested in the attorney general.
“Let’s assume the Department of Justice sues the Secretary of the (Kansas) Department of Children and Families in federal court over this SNAP business. Are you saying that you have the power as attorney general to go into that courtroom and confess judgment?” Biles asked.
They asked the governor’s counsel whether the matter is a “live controversy,” or an actual ongoing dispute rather than a hypothetical one.
“Would you concede that it is possible, hypothetically in cases, that the governor of any state in his or her official capacity would not have standing, it just depends on what’s the subject of the lawsuit,” Justice Caleb Stegall said. “I don’t see anything particularly nefarious about a different party saying this party over here doesn’t have standing.”
Biles questioned whether the matter couldn’t be resolved elsewhere.
“Is it really that big of a deal,” he said. “I don’t understand how we can have a Quo Warranto action that say the attorney general made a bad legal argument. And shouldn’t be able to make that legal argument,”
There’s no timeline for when the Kansas Supreme Court will have a final opinion in the case, but the Kelly administration was seeking a decision before a potential appeal in its SNAP case.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.
The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.
The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.
According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.
Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.
On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
No further information has been released.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.
Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.
Police are investigating how the crash happened.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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