Judge who approved raid on Kansas newspaper has history of DUI arrests

BY CHANCE SWAIM
UPDATED AUGUST 16, 2023 2:19 PM



Magistrate Judge Laura Viar signed a search warrant that authorized Marion police to raid the Marion County Record’s newsroom and the home of the editor and seize their computers, cell phones and other records related to the newspaper’s probe into a local restaurant owner’s drunk-driving record. COURTESY Kansas 8th Judicial District Court

The Kansas magistrate judge who authorized a police raid of the Marion County Record newsroom over its probe into a local restaurateur’s drunken-driving record has her own hidden history of driving under the influence. ... Judge Laura Viar, who was appointed on Jan. 1 to fill a vacant 8th Judicial District magistrate seat, was arrested at least twice for DUI in two different Kansas counties in 2012, a Wichita Eagle investigation found. ...She was the lead prosecutor for Morris County at the time.

Viar’s DUI history could face scrutiny because the warrant she approved for the controversial raid came in response to the Marion County Record digging into the DUI history of restaurant owner Kari Newell. The Viar-authorized raid came after Newell complained about the newspaper’s investigation into her criminal background.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said Wednesday that the warrant was ordered with “insufficient evidence” to establish a connection between the materials seized and the alleged crime.

It’s unclear whether a judicial nominating commission that selected Viar for the magistrate position knew about her arrests and diversion. Members of the commission did not return calls from Eagle and Kansas City Star reporters. She would have been required to disclose both arrests in her application.

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Contributing: Katie Bernard, Jonathan Shorman and Judy Thomas of the Kansas City Star

Marion County Record Search Warrant by The Kansas City Star on Scribd