Reporter receives $850K settlement over Kansas newspaper raid

MARION, Kan. - Three years after police stormed a small Kansas newspaper in a raid that drew nationwide attention, the town of Marion has agreed to pay $850,000 to a former reporter who said the search violated her constitutional rights and triggered a serious health crisis.

Reporter wins $850K in newspaper police raid settlement

Big picture view:

Phyllis Zorn, a retired reporter for the Marion County Record, sued Marion officials in federal court over the August 2023 raid. She argued that police had violated the First Amendment protections afforded to journalists as well as the Fourth Amendment’s safeguards against unreasonable searches.

Zorn also said the raid had a personal consequence. According to her lawsuit, the stress of the search was followed almost immediately by the return of potentially life-threatening seizures that had been controlled for years with medication.

Her case was dismissed Tuesday under a settlement reached with the city, according to a joint filing by her attorney, Randy Rathbun, and Marion attorney Jennifer Hill.

Third anniversary of newspaper raids 

The backstory:

The settlement is part of a much broader legal fallout from the searches, which also targeted the home of newspaper publisher Eric Meyer and the home of a former Marion City Council member.

The raids began after then-Police Chief Gideon Cody said he was investigating whether the newspaper had illegally obtained a local restaurant owner’s state driving record. But subsequent reviews found legal flaws in the investigation and search warrants, and prosecutors cleared Zorn and the newspaper of wrongdoing.

Meyer, Zorn and others maintained that the police action was retaliation for the newspaper’s aggressive reporting, including its efforts to investigate Cody’s past in law enforcement.

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The raid also had a tragic aftermath for Meyer. His 98-year-old mother, who co-owned the newspaper and lived with him, died the day after police searched their home. Meyer has attributed her death to the stress caused by the raid.

Cody later resigned as police chief.

In November, Marion County agreed to pay more than $3 million to resolve claims brought in five lawsuits. That agreement included $600,000 to Zorn, while additional claims involving the city and current and former officials have been settled or dismissed separately. 

Some legal claims remain ongoing

What's next:

Some litigation remains pending, with a pretrial hearing scheduled by Zoom for Oct. 15.

Cody has faced legal trouble of his own. After a state investigation into the raid, two special prosecutors charged him with felony interference with the judicial process. Prosecutors allege that he attempted to persuade a witness, a restaurant owner at the center of the original investigation, to withhold information from authorities.

Cody has pleaded not guilty. His trial, originally scheduled for later this month, has been postponed.