Kansas Judge Lets AG Press Abortion Case

[wakeme2008]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Kansas-Abortion-Charges.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

December 26, 2006
Kansas Judge Lets AG Press Abortion Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 2:21 p.m. ET

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A judge agreed Tuesday to let Kansas' attorney general, a vocal abortion opponent, try to persuade him to reinstate charges against a well-known abortion provider.

District Judge Paul W. Clark scheduled a hearing for Wednesday after Attorney General Phill Kline asked him to reconsider his decision to dismiss the case against Dr. George Tiller over a jurisdictional issue.

Kline, who lost his re-election bid in November and leaves office in three weeks, filed 30 misdemeanor counts last week accusing Tiller of illegally performing 15 late-term abortions.

..more at link..

[Critters2]

1. What's the matter with Kansas?!! nt

[BOSSHOG]

2. I guess its okay to be an activist prosecutor

if you care nothing about people after they are born. Sad, pathetic, vindictive loser - a classic "christian conservative." Most likely searching as we speak for something else to whine about.

[ripple]

3. Kline's a nut

He was defeated as AG largely because of his bizarre use of the AG's office to pursue his own little crusade against a perfectly legal procedure in this state. The kicker is that he was defeated by the Johnson County DA, Paul Morrison, who switched parties to run against him.

According to Kansas law, since Morrison was elected DA as a republican, the rethug party got to elect someone of their choosing to fill his shoes in that county. Guess who they chose? Yep, fucking Kline. And that's after Morrison won 65% of the vote in Johnson County, which is the most populous in Ks. Another kicker is that one of the two main abortion providers (Tiller's clinic being the other) Kline has been persecuting is located in Johnson County.

It's beyond absurd.

[Judi Lynn]

6. He could NEVER come close to respectably filling the shoes of the previous

Johnson County District Attorney. It's a hideous joke. Undoubtedly they did this filthy thing for revenge. Too bad the citizens of Johnson County are the ones who are going to have to pay the price for having an absolute a-hole running that office.

He will DESTROY a wonderfully functioning office, which has been remarkable all the time Paul Morrison was there.

You may remember the Republicans turned vile against him the moment he switched parties, someone who had been their shining star as a Republican! Very dirty people, as a group. Phill Kline is exactly what you expect in a Republican these days. Pity.

[ripple]

8. The only good thing that might come out of this

is that we could see more and more Kansas republicans jumping ship, as they realize that their party's leaders don't represent them. I have a feeling this will especially be the case in Johnson County, where Morrison has been so well-liked. While Morrison was an excellent AG candidate anyway, I think Kline's own disgusting behavior was a big contributor to his downfall.

I'm outraged on behalf of the JoCo voters, but I have a feeling this little stunt might very well ensure a Democratic DA for them in 2008. God knows, they'll probably have paid a steep price for it by then.

[brentspeak]

4. Good grief. I hope somebody investigates this obvious prosecutorial misconduct

[atommom]

5. Damn! I was so happy when the judge slapped Kline down

the first time. I honestly don't see how he has the authority to press charges against this clinic, and I expect more of the same from him once he takes office here in Johnson County. :banghead:

[depakid]

7. This man CLEARLY needs to be disbarred

The fact that Kansas officials refuse to take disciplinary action is yet another blackmark on the state.

[hatrack]

9. Oh, and I should probably mention that he doesn't even live in Johnson County

That's right, he's lived in Topeka for the last four years.

He switched his legal address to an apartment in Johnson County about a week before the Republican party vote on the new DA. The apartment is owned (or possibly rented, not sure) by a couple active in Kansans For Life. Kline has never lived there at all.

No problem, though - close enough to residency if you're a Republican!!!

[xchrom]

10. and so the insanity continues.

and that really is the issue here -- a lack of rationality.

[sarcasmo]

11. The Flat Earthers just hate freedom.

[Eugene]

12. AP: Judge Won't Reinstate Abortion Charges

Judge Won't Reinstate Abortion Charges


Wednesday December 27, 2006 10:01 PM

By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press Writer

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A judge Wednesday refused to reinstate criminal charges brought
by Kansas' outgoing attorney general against a Wichita abortion doctor who has long
been the target of anti-abortion politicians, protesters and extremists.

Last week, Attorney General Phill Kline, a vocal opponent of abortion who was defeated
for re-election in November, filed 30 charges against Dr. George Tiller, accusing him
of performing 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003 on patients ages 10 to 22 and not
properly reporting details to the state.

Sedgwick County Judge Paul W. Clark threw out the charges on jurisdictional grounds less
than day later. Kline then asked Clark to reinstate the charges, but the judge rejected
that request during a hearing Wednesday.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6306020,00.html