When Kansas police arrest someone it may be awhile – and maybe never – before the public finds out how and why.

But a statewide media organization hopes to change that.

On Wednesday, the Kansas Press Association introduced legislation that, if passed by the Legislature, would make criminal affidavits open to the public. Affidavits are sworn statements by police that are submitted to a judge, who must decide whether to issue an arrest warrant.

Kansas may be the only state in the country in which these affidavits automatically are closed to the public, said Doug Anstaett, KPA executive director.

“We believe that if you give power to the police to arrest someone, once that person is arrested, the public has a right to know the basis the police used to suspect the person of wrong-doing,” Anstaett said. “It’s kind of a checks and balances type of thing.”

Currently, the affidavits are not public, unless a judge orders them to be open. In the bill KPA introduced, the affidavits would be open once a suspect is arrested — unless a judge is convinced the documents should be closed.

KPA tried to get similar legislation approved in 2006 but it never got out of a subcommittee. State Rep. Lance Kinzer, R-Olathe, an attorney who handles civil cases, now is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and he’s open to considering such legislation.

Other states release the affidavit information and it doesn’t seem to have any effect on public safety, he said.

“I’m by no means ready to jump in and support something I haven’t seen yet, but generally I think there might be room to satisfy legitimate concerns,” Kinzer said. “I think the information could be more open.”

Lawrence criminal defense attorney Craig Stancliffe said opening the affidavits would publicize unchallenged statements against a defendant, most often made by an alleged victim.

“Where it really gets unfair to the defendant is when it gets into a ‘he said-she said’ sort of thing,” Stancliffe said. “You basically have a platform for the accuser to get up and have a say without the other side having a say.”

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson has similar concerns. He also thinks affidavit information could prejudice some people against a defendant and make jury selection more difficult.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of keeping the public in the dark,” Branson said. “I think it’s a matter of having the judicial process work fairly and efficiently toward resolving someone’s guilt or innocence in the case.”

Branson also noted that some affidavits might have incomplete information in them, something that gets corrected as an investigation progresses. He is also concerned about the documents being posted on a news outlet’s Web site.

“If we decide not to charge someone, it’s awful hard to recall that from the public,” he said.

But KPA’s director has noted that documents that led Wichita police to wrongly suspect a man in the BTK case were kept private. The man never was charged and he had to go to court to fight for the release of those documents. They were unsealed only after he sued a Wichita TV station for invasion of privacy.

Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern also opposes release of the affidavits.

“The press and public already have access to important front page information on all Kansas offense reports,” McGovern said in an e-mail statement. “We believe it is in the best interests of suspects and victims not to release investigative reports or criminal affidavits prior to court hearings.”

Many law enforcement officers have similar concerns, Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said. But Six said a great majority of the affidavits he signed when he was a Douglas County judge didn’t contain information that would jeopardize a case. Law enforcement officers are especially concerned about information being released in high-profile cases, Six said. He added, however, that he thinks compromises can be reached to ease those concerns.

“I’m interested in looking at an approach that might achieve a balance,” he said.