WASHINGTON and WICHITA, Kansas (AP/KSN) — The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that same-sex marriages can go ahead in Kansas. The 7-2 ruling only overrules the stay on the federal court injunction blocking the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, while the case is awaiting hearing in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. “But while that decision proceeds, Kansas authorities must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” legal analyst Dan Monnat said….

WICHITA, Kansas — As the debate over same-sex marriage continues in Kansas, the courtroom drama is getting more complicated…. The state filed the action against a Kansas 10th Judicial District Judge, when last month he granted a same-sex marriage license to a Johnson Co. couple, pointing to recent cases in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Utah that found gay marriage bans unconstitutional. Says legal analyst Dan Monnat, “It applies to the Kansas law the rulings of the 10th circuit on the Utah and Oklahoma laws because the Kansas law is virtually identical….”

WICHITA, Kan. – The foster father accused of leaving a 10-month-old child to die inside a hot car was charged on Wednesday in Sedgwick County Court with first-degree murder. KSN News asked legal expert Dan Monnat why he is being charged with first-degree murder instead of a lesser charge. “What they’re saying is that he recklessly caused the child to be placed in a situation where the child was endangered and regrettably that resulted in the death. Elevating what otherwise would be ‘aggravated child endangerment’ to first-degree murder,” said Monnat.

WINFIELD, Kan. – Some residents of Winfield are outraged that a convicted sex offender was allowed to go home before being sentenced to life in prison. “Is this person a danger to the community, or is he a risk of flight? It is entrusted to the wisdom of the individuals we elect and put in place as judges,” said Dan Monnat, KSN Legal Analyst…

WICHITA, Kan. – Supporters of same-sex marriage may be closer to the ability to marry in Kansas thanks to a ruling by the 10th Circuit Court that struck down a Utah same-sex marriage ban that is also binding in Kansas. “Does the decision of the court necessarily say those law enforcement officials must issue licenses? No, because the 10th Circuit stayed its decision [pending an appeal to the Supreme Court],” legal analyst Dan Monnat said. “Whether or not the United States Supreme Court reviews this is a discretionary matter,” Monnat said.

WICHITA, Kansas – Individual privacy supporters applauded a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that determined that the contents of cell phones can only be released to law enforcement through a search warrant, because “a person’s life… can be reconstructed, said the court, by means of their smartphone,” according to Dan Monnat, a legal analyst.