Posted on Fri, Mar. 23, 2007

The Kansas Wichita Eagle

House leaders seek reinstatement of charges against Tiller

Kansas House leaders have asked Attorney General Paul Morrison to reinstate charges filed by his predecessor against Wichita abortion provider George Tiller.

Three House leaders released their letter to Morrison a day after a senator filed an ethics complaint against the Sedgwick County judge who dismissed the case.

Former Attorney General Phill Kline filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller just before leaving office late last year. Judge Paul Clark and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston agreed Kline did not have jurisdiction to file the charges in Sedgwick County.

Morrison's office said it would have a response to the letter later today.

The letter was signed by House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, Majority Leader Ray Merrick, R-Stillwell, and Kansas Speaker Pro Tem Don Dahl, R-Hillsboro.

"Members of the Kansas Legislature have been inundated with telephone calls, petitions, letters and emails from Kansans across the state, asking that we direct the attorney general to proceed with the criminal case against Dr. Tiller," Dahl said in a statement. "I am very disappointed in the lack of action by the state's chief law enforcement officer regarding the issues addressed in our letter."

In response, one of Tiller's lawyers, Dan Monnat, said: "Dr. Tiller is innocent of any wrongdoing. We always said that Dr. Tiller would cooperate with professional prosecutors who don't have some skewed political agenda, and he has done and will do that. On the other hand, it's important that the different branches of government maintain their independence and that the Legislature not try to coerce a political prosecution."

For more, see Saturday's Eagle.

--Eagle staff