• Aug 18, 2021

Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, proudly announces that all five of the firm’s attorneys have been honored by Best Lawyers in America® 2022, with one also receiving top honors as Wichita “Lawyer of the Year”.

Sal Intagliata – Wichita Lawyer of the Year for DUI/DWI Defense, earned his seventh consecutive listing by Best Lawyers along with his third Lawyer of the Year award. He was also honored this year in the areas of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. A shareholder at Monnat & Spurrier, his career includes 22 years as a distinguished criminal defense attorney in private practice, as well as four years as a Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney, where he prosecuted cases in the Gangs/Violent Crimes Division.

Intagliata earned his bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from the University of Kansas. He earned his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in May 1995.

Dan Monnat, who has been honored by Best Lawyers for 34 consecutive years, was recognized this year in four distinct areas: Criminal Defense-General Practice; Criminal Defense-White Collar; Bet-the-Company Litigation; and Appellate Practice.

Monnat has practiced in Wichita for 45 years. A graduate of California State University, Monnat holds a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law and is a graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College.

Stan Spurrier, a legal scholar who co-founded the firm with Monnat in 1985, was recognized in the areas of: Appellate Practice; Criminal Defense: General Practice; and Criminal Defense: White-Collar.

Spurrier earned his bachelor’s degree from Wichita State University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Washburn University School of Law.

Matthew Gorney is an associate with the firm whose practice includes criminal defense, DUI defense and appellate work. He was selected to the Best Lawyers list for the second consecutive year for Criminal Defense: General Practice.

A former journalist, Gorney graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2013 where he earned certificates in both Advocacy Skills and Media, Law and Technology. He simultaneously earned a master’s degree in journalism from KU’s William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University majoring in journalism with a minor in Leadership Studies.

Eli O’Brien is an associate attorney whose primary practice includes defense of serious felony accusations, as well as DUI and DWI cases. He was honored by Best Lawyers for the second year in Criminal Defense: White-Collar.

Before joining Monnat & Spurrier in 2015, O’Brien was a trial attorney with the Sedgwick County Public Defender’s Office. A graduate of Washburn University School of Law, O’Brien also holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Emporia State University.

“Selection to Best Lawyers in America is designed to elicit substantive evaluations of each attorney, rated by peers who are in the best position to evaluate the professional conduct and capabilities of their colleagues,” said Monnat. “Those lawyers with the highest overall peer-feedback in a specific practice area and geographic region earn the additional distinction of Lawyer of the Year, and I’m immensely proud of Sal Intagliata for receiving this well-deserved recognition. It is particularly gratifying to know that our fellow members of the bar hold us in such high esteem.”

Monnat & Spurrier was founded in 1985 by Dan Monnat and Stan Spurrier. The firm has earned an international reputation for its work in criminal defense, white-collar criminal defense, computer crimes defense, bet-the-company litigation, and criminal appeals.

  • Aug 10, 2021
  • KSNW TV
  • -
  • by Zach Martin

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — Facebook took down USD 308’s Board of Education meeting from Monday, where the board voted to mandate masks for all schools in the district.

The school district says because they have no control over the social media platform, there isn’t much they can do. So now, USD 308 is just hoping they will get access to the video again so the public can rewatch the meeting.

“I can tell you that it’s disappointing because we pride ourselves on being transparent,” said USD 308 Superintendent Michael Folks.

“We believe in our community’s right to share their opinions, and we think the conversations that happened last night were needed,” explained Marissa Meis, USD 308’s communication director.

Meis says the district is trying to learn how to prevent it in the future.

“What platforms they used, kind of how they stream it, and when they post the videos and things like that.”

Aside from learning prevention, legally, the school district doesn’t have many options.

“So far, the United States Supreme Court has not held that Facebook has come to carry on such a public function that censorship becomes denied to it,” said Dan Monnat, a criminal defense attorney in Wichita.

On Tuesday, the district has reached out to other school districts in the area, and they learned they are not alone when it comes to being censored by social media platforms.

“Whether they were using the Facebook live stream or the YouTube live stream,” added Folks. “I did hear a couple of board meetings were cut off in mid-stream.”

This is the first time one of their live streams has been taken down by Facebook or any other live streaming platform.

See the full story at KSN.com

  • Aug 02, 2021
  • KSN TV
  • -
  • by Craig Andres

WICHITA – Kansas City is starting a mask mandate and a couple of bars there are now requiring proof of vaccination at the door. Could that idea catch on here in Wichita?

“Generally, businesses may require their customers to demonstrate proof of vaccination,” said KSN Legal Analyst Dan Monnat. “And no one should worry that these requirements somehow constitute a violation of HIPPA.”

KSN News asked local bars and other businesses about possible vaccination proof at the door.

“I think it would be very uncomfortable with political attitudes about the vaccination,” said Phil Haase with Club Billiards in Delano.

Other businesses say many are in the process of still figuring out the pandemic and what customers will and will not tolerate.

“I think it’s an interesting idea. I feel like it would freak people out,” said Katie Rob with Leslie Coffee Company in Delano. “Obviously, they will be like their freedoms are being taken away.”

Leslie Coffee Company was one of the last Wichita businesses to remove its own mask requirement.

“We made our decision to not require masks once the CDC said it was no longer required,” said Rob. “But to require proof of vaccination? I don’t know if we would ever do anything like that. I don’t think that we probably would.”

See full story at KSN.com