Phill Kline
Phill Kline | |
---|---|
District Attorney of Johnson County, Kansas | |
In office January 2007 – January 2009 | |
Preceded by | Paul J. Morrison |
Succeeded by | Steve Howe |
41st Attorney General of Kansas | |
In office January 6, 2003 – January 8, 2007 | |
Governor | Bill Graves Kathleen Sebelius |
Preceded by | Carla Stovall |
Succeeded by | Paul J. Morrison |
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives from the 18th district | |
In office January 11, 1993 – January 8, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Eugene Amos |
Succeeded by | Mary Pilcher-Cook |
Personal details | |
Born | Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. | December 31, 1959
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Deborah Kline |
Profession | Attorney (license indefinitely suspended) |
Phillip D. Kline (born December 31, 1959) is a former American attorney who served as a Kansas state legislator, district attorney of Johnson County, and Kansas Attorney General. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as attorney general to Democratic challenger Paul J. Morrison in 2006.[1] Kline was appointed by the Republican County Central Committee to fill the vacancy left by Morrison's election as Kansas Attorney General, becoming district attorney of Johnson County on the day he left office as attorney general and essentially switching jobs with Morrison. Kline then ran for a full term as district attorney, but was defeated in the 2008 Republican primary.[2]
Kline was a polarizing figure in state politics, largely surrounding his use of his office to investigate abortion providers.[3] He filed charges against George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider, and led a years-long effort to prosecute Planned Parenthood in Kansas.[3] Kline received a series of official rebukes and reprimands for his legal tactics against abortion providers, and in 2013, his law license was indefinitely suspended by the Kansas Supreme Court, which found "clear and convincing evidence" that Kline committed numerous violations of conduct rules, which included providing false testimony.[4][5] Kline appealed his license suspension to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene, leaving the suspension in place.[6] Kline is currently an assistant professor at Liberty University, an evangelical Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Early life and political career
Born in
Kline graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School and subsequently attended the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri. He was a member of the varsity wrestling team with a partial wrestling scholarship, and a member of the cross country team. He earned a B.S. in business communications in 1982.[7]
Kline received his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1987, and was an Associate Editor for the Kansas Law Review. He entered private practice as an associate with Blackwell Sanders, a large firm in Kansas City specializing in corporate law. He married his wife, Deborah, in 1989, and settled in Shawnee close to where he grew up. The Klines have one daughter, Hillary, born in 1992. They are members of the Central Church of the Nazarene in Lenexa, Kansas.[8]
After leaving Blackwell Sanders, Kline hosted two radio programs: The Phill and Mary Show on Kansas City AM station KMBZ, and Face Off With Phill Kline on Topeka AM station WIBW. He was finance director of the Johnson County Republican Committee.[citation needed]
While still a law student, Kline ran for
Attorney General of Kansas
In 2002, Kline won election as attorney general of Kansas, defeating fellow Republican David Adkins of Leawood in the primary and Democrat Chris Biggs of Junction City in the general election. On becoming attorney general, Kline and his family moved to Topeka.[10]
Kansas v. Marsh
In December 2005 and April 2006, he successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in Kansas v. Marsh, wherein the Court reversed a ruling made by the Kansas Supreme Court that the state's death penalty was unconstitutional.
Abortion controversy
In 2005, Kline began investigating possible cases of child rape and illegal partial-birth and late-term abortions. In doing so, Kline requested the redacted medical records (without names) of 90 women and girls who either gave birth to a child or had an abortion. His office was ultimately granted these redacted records by the Kansas Supreme Court.[11][12]
On December 21, 2006, Kline charged abortion provider Dr.
In a related matter, Kline was named a defendant in a suit brought in the
In 2006, Kline and Operation Rescue claimed that Robert A. Estrada, an alleged rapist, was captured with the help of abortion clinic medical records subpoenaed as a result of Kline's investigation.[19] The District Attorney who prosecuted Estrada challenged ORW's claims, stating that Kline and the records had no involvement in the prosecution.[19]
Kline was suspended from practicing law due to the fact that he illegally accessed the private medical records of women who made the choice to have an abortion. He obtained some records provided on his demand to Dr. Kristin Neuhaus, whose prosecution he pursued after Dr. Tiller's assassination, and illegally disclosed them, including discussing them with then-Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on television.[12] The Kansas Supreme Court stated:
"Ultimately, we unanimously conclude the weight of the aggravating factors—i.e., Kline's inability or refusal to acknowledge the line between overzealous advocacy and operating within the bounds of the law and his professional obligations; his selfish motives; and his lengthy and substantial pattern of misconduct—weigh more heavily than the mitigating factors and merit his indefinite suspension."[20]
State v. Limon
During his tenure, in the case of
In June 2003, the Supreme Court issued a
2006 and 2008 re-election campaigns
Kline ran for re-election as attorney general in 2006. On November 7, 2006, he lost to Democratic challenger and
On December 11, 2006, Johnson County Republican Precinct committeepersons narrowly selected Kline over fellow Republican Steve Howe to serve the remaining two years of Morrison's term as county district attorney.[23] With 60% of the vote, Howe defeated Kline in the August 5, 2008, Republican primary for a full term as district attorney.
Church memorandum controversy
In late September 2006, an internal election campaign memo from Kline to his campaign staff was leaked to
Work attendance and residency controversy
KCTV, a Kansas City CBS affiliate, aired an investigative report that addressed accusations that Kline did not reside within Johnson County as required by state law, and that he spent an inadequate amount of time at the district attorney's office.[29] He had rented a small apartment in Stilwell, and was registered to vote from that location. The KCTV reporters said in their report they were unable to observe Kline or his family at the address. On two occasions, Kline was tailed by reporters from Johnson County back to Topeka, the location of his primary residence.[29]
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office initially refused KCTV-5 access to records that log ID card passes at the Johnson County Courthouse garage, citing security concerns. Through a public records request, KCTV initially received redacted and incomplete records via the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. According to the report, the security system only saves 90 days worth of data and purged much of the electronic records in question.[29] The KCTV report, based on the incomplete records, also suggested that Kline spent an inadequate amount of time in the Johnson Country District Attorney's Office, averaging only 29 hours per week.[29] KCTV5 devoted an entire 10pm newscast to deal with criticisms leveled at KCTV5's handling of the investigation the following day.[10]
Post-electoral career
In January, 2009, Kline left Kansas to become a visiting professor at the Liberty University School of Law, in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is now an assistant professor at the school.
License to practice law suspended
In 2010 the Kansas Supreme Court Disciplinary Administrator brought formal professional ethics charges against Kline before the Kansas Supreme Court based on perjury, an illegal file transfer, misleading legal guidance that Kline had provided to the grand jury in the Johnson County clinic case, the O'Reilly appearance, and several other matters. Kline's ethics trial began on February 21, 2011. He testified that he had the right to deceive state agencies to gain information in abortion investigations and that he had no duty to promptly notify a trial judge that he had provided flawed information.[30]
On October 13, 2011, the Kansas Board of Discipline of Attorneys recommended that Kline's law license be indefinitely suspended, citing a pattern of repeatedly misleading statements, "dishonest and selfish motives", and a failure to "take any responsibility for his misconduct." Kline disputed the Board's findings as politically motivated.[31] The recommendation to suspend his license went to the state's Supreme Court,[32] where Kline's demands resulted in the unusual recusal of five Justices and a substitute appeals court judge from the case.[33] The court indefinitely suspended Kline's law license on October 18, 2013. The costs to the taxpayers of defending his license came to nearly $600,000.[4][34]
The United States Supreme Court – the only level of federal court which could overrule the state supreme court decision[35] – announced on April 28, 2014, that it was declining to hear Kline's request to review the suspension of his Kansas license to practice law.[36] However, Kline continued to pursue the matter as a federal case, in federal District court, where he lost in 2016. He then appealed that decision to the
References
- ^ "Race for Attorney General" Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Lawrence Journal-World; retrieved January 8, 2007.
- Lawrence Journal World, John Hanna, 12 December 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
The case emerged from a long investigation by one of the state's most polarizing elected officials, Phill Kline, who had used his position as Kansas attorney general and later as Johnson County district attorney to crusade against abortion providers, earning a series of official rebukes along the way for his tactics, including a recommendation last month by a state board that he be prohibited from practicing law in the state.
- ^ a b Plumlee, Rick (October 18, 2013). "Kansas Supreme Court Indefinitely Suspends Phill Kline's State Law License". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- ^ Rizzo, Tony (October 18, 2013). "Phill Kline is indefinitely suspended from practicing law". Kansas City Star.
- ^ "Supreme Court denies Kansas' Phill Kline appeal on law license". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Wichita Eagle; accessed May 15, 2017.
- ^ [1] Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Clerk of the House of Representatives, Jeff Trandahl, June 7, 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ a b Kline buys JoCo house from campaign donors, The Pitch, Justin Kendall, July 1, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Wilgoren, Jodi (February 25, 2005). "Kansas Prosecutor Demands Files on Late-Term Abortion Patients". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Supreme Court Upholds Disbarment of Anti-Abortion Kansas Ex-AG Phill Kline, CounterPunch, Dave Lindorff, May 2, 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
- ^ Hegeman, Roxana (December 23, 2006). "Kansas Court Dismisses Abortion Charges". Washington Post. AP.
- ^ "Doctor acquitted in late-term abortion case". NBC News. Associated Press. March 27, 2009.
- ^ [3] Archived November 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Suspect in shooting death of abortion provider George Tiller may be charged today | George Tiller Slain | Wichita Eagle". Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Federal judge sides with abortion rights group". NBC News. Associated Press. April 18, 2006.
- ^ a b Aid for Women v. Foulston, 427 F.Supp.2d 1093, 1095 (D. Kan. 2006).
- ^ a b Hanna, John (October 3, 2006). "D.A. says Kline wasn't involved". The Topeka Capitol-Journal. Archived from the original on 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
- ^ Lach, Eric. 'Kansan Supreme Court suspends ex-Attorney General over abortion investigation', Talking Points Memo, October 18, 2013; retrieved October 24, 2013.
- ^ Lawrence Journal World, Carl Manning (AP), November 19, 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "85898 -- State v. Limon -- Luckert -- Kansas Supreme Court". Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ a b Slevin, Peter. "Trounced at Polls, Kansas GOP Is Still Plagued by Infighting", Washington Post, December 30, 2006, pg. A2.
- Lawrence Journal World, Scott Rothschild, November 8, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- ^ Kansas Attorney General writes orders for a reelection campaign operation "in each church", JewsOnFirst.org.
- ^ Wilson, Bruce, Kansas Attorney General Kline's Leaked Memo For Church Involvement In Politics, Talk2Action, September 19, 2006.
- ^ Kline memo, JewsOnFirst.org
- ^ Kline defends memo during debate Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, Topeka Capital-Journal, September 15, 2006.
- ^ a b c d KCTV5 News Investigates Phill Kline - News Story Archived 2007-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, KCTV5.com; accessed May 15, 2017.
- ^ Hanna, John (2011-02-21). "Phill Kline says deception OK in abortion investigations". Deseret News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
- ^ Hansen, Mark (October 14, 2011). "Ethics Panel Recommends Indefinite Suspension for Ex-Kansas AG". ABA Journal. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Cooper, Brad (October 13, 2011). "Kansas board backs indefinite suspension for Phill Kline". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Kline seeks ouster of judge from disciplinary panel Archived 2017-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, Topeka Capital Journal, Tim Carpenter, August 14, 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ Rizzo, Tony (October 18, 2013). "Phill Kline indefinitely suspended from practicing law". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ a b Associated Press, "Federal court rejects ex-AG's lawsuit against Kansas Supreme court," July 3, 2017, Lawrence Journal-World Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Supreme Court rejects appeal from ex-Kansas Attorney General Kline over suspended law license". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. April 28, 2014. Retrieved 2018-06-15.