The Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling in an open records case affirms the state’s commitment to open government.

Most Kansans probably weren’t even aware of the open records case on which the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling Friday, and yet rulings like this one are an important part of maintaining open government in the state.

In 1999, the Wichita Eagle filed suit against the Kansas Department of Corrections, which had attempted to withhold parole records that had been requested by the newspaper. The Eagle had wanted to obtain the names of parolees who had been charged with murder or manslaughter from 1996-99 along with information about their crimes. The newspaper also sought records from the internal department panels that review serious incidents involving parolees.

The Corrections Department supplied some documents but refused to turn over information on the parolees’ supervision histories. Officials argued, and a lower court agreed, that Kansas law prohibits such disclosure.

The state supreme court, however, said most of those documents are part of the public record and must be released. Among the documents the newspaper should have access to are records pertaining to criminal charges pending against parolees.

Another argument made by the Corrections Department was that the information requested by the newspaper was available from other sources, such as district court records, but the supreme court said that was not a valid reason to deny the newspaper’s request.

A spokesman for the court called the case “probably the most comprehensive review of the Open Records Act since it was enacted,” and noted that the ruling “really sets a precedent for open government in Kansas.”

This particular case upholds the right of Kansans to know what parolees from state prisons are doing and to evaluate for themselves whether the parolees are a threat to their safety. That information also could be the basis for a decision on whether the state’s parole system is doing the job Kansans want and need it to do.

This is the sort of basic right of safety and government oversight that the Open Records Act was intended to protect, not only for the state’s news media but for average citizens. Most individuals would never seek this kind of information, but it’s important for them to have the ability to do so and for the news media to be allowed to do it on the public’s behalf.

The Kansas Open Meetings and Open Records Act is a vital component in maintaining clean and open government in the state. The parole records ruling is a welcome affirmation of how highly the state values those principles.