By Morgan Chilson
TOPEKA — CoreCivic argued Tuesday for the right to begin holding prisoners in its closed Leavenworth facility, even as the company is working through a local permit process that could make the court case irrelevant.
CoreCivic challenged an injunction in the Kansas Court of Appeals that was made last year by the Leavenworth County District Court. The injunction kept the private prison from taking detainees from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while CoreCivic and the City of Leavenworth fought in court about reopening the company’s prison facility.
Complicating the issue, the two are now working through the city’s planning process as CoreCivic has applied for a special use permit that would allow it to reopen.
“This is a difficult case because it feels like there are all of these slippery parts that are not part of the matter before us,” said Chief Judge Sarah Warner. “There’s a separate lawsuit. There are ongoing administrative proceedings.”
CoreCivic operated a private prison in Leavenworth until 2021 when it lost a contract with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2025, the company announced it planned to reopen the prison as the Midwest Regional Detention Center and house ICE detainees.
The city required CoreCivic to obtain a special use permit through its planning and zoning process before reopening, which is where the court cases originated last year. The two entities have been fighting it out in court, with CoreCivic insisting it did not need a permit.
After losses in Kansas district court, CoreCivic bowed to the city’s demands and began the process of obtaining the permit. Last week, the city’s planning commission approved the permit and sent it to the city commission for a final determination.
Although one court case between the two ended and one remains open but inactive, the Nashville-based private prison company continued its appeal Tuesday to argue the injunction prohibiting it from taking prisoners immediately should be reversed.
Sara Fevurly, an attorney for CoreCivic, said the district court didn’t properly grant the injunction, and even if the decision were rendered moot after the permit was approved, the company may be entitled to fees and damages associated with an improper temporary injunction.
In the short hearing focused on legal technicalities of the case, both sides argued about the definition of “irreparable harm” and whether CoreCivic abandoned use of its property because it did not house prisoners there for about three years.
Joseph Hatley, an attorney for Leavenworth, told the court it was difficult to determine what “irreparable harm” would mean for the city, listing challenges the city had with CoreCivic during its operations before 2021. Those included not alerting local police to crimes at the facility and public works issues created by sewage.
Fevurly argued that past behavior cannot be used to determine harm.
“I don’t know how you calculate damages based on the police inability to investigate crimes,” Hatley said. “There are people who get hurt by that, there are victims in the facility who are hurt by that. Irreparable harm is the inability to calculate damages, and that’s what we have here.”
Warner said the judges would render a written opinion as soon as they could.
CoreCivic will know by March 10 whether the city will approve its special use permit to reopen the prison, Hatley said after the hearing. That will be the city commission’s second consideration of the permit, with the first consideration occurring Feb. 24. A public hearing is held as part of the process.
David Waters, the Leavenworth city attorney, said after the hearing that the public’s input is “certainly” part of determining whether the permit goes through.
“That is why we hold a public hearing,” he said. “The planning commission holds that public hearing to get the citizen input on that. It’s one of the most important parts of the zoning and planning process is to get that input from the residents as to what is best for the public health and safety and welfare of the community.”
Waters said CoreCivic has the option to appeal to the district court if the city commission refuses to grant the permit.
