Complaint Against Tiller Judge Dismissed
The Olathe News
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LOCAL/STATE, Page 3A
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Complaint against Tiller judge dismissed
TOPEKA, Kan. – A state panel has dismissed an ethics complaint filed by abortion opponents against a Sedgwick County district judge who threw out a criminal case against the state’s best-known abortion provider.
A seven-member panel of the Commission on Judicial Qualifications concluded the complaint “contained no facts evidencing judicial misconduct” by Judge Paul W. Clark in his handling of 30 misdemeanor charges filed against Dr. George Tiller, who is among the few U.S. doctors performing late term abortions.
Abortion opponents, led by Senator Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, noted that during Clark’s 2004 re-election campaign, the judge received maximum contributions of $500 each from a law firm representingTiller and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston and her husband. They said Clark should have disclosed the contributions in court.
Huelskamp questioned whether the panel’s investigation of the complaint was thorough. A Tiller attorney called the panel’s decision wise.
The charges against Tiller were filed in December by outgoing Attorney General Phill Kline, an anti-abortion Republican. Clark dismissed the case the next day on jurisdictional grounds, at the request of Foulston, a Democrat.
The commission panel disclosed its decision in a letter sent last week to Troy Newmann, president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, who was involved in the complaint. Operation Rescue made the letter public Monday.
Clark told the commission panel he did not know who contributed to his re-election campaign because he never had examined the commission panel report, the commission panel said.
It noted that under the Kansas law, campaign treasurers are responsible for filing such reports with the state.
“Without any knowledge of the campaign contributions, Judge Clark had no information to disclose,” the commission panel said in its letter, signed by Chair Nancy Anstaett. “This matter is now closed.”
Newman responded with a letter asking her for details about how the panel conducted its investigation and said he needs to know more to judge how thorough the panel was.
“On the face, what it looks like is that they just read a letter submitted by the accused saying he was not guilty and dismissed it,” he said during an interview. “It’s moved from being odd to absurd. Kansas’ judiciary has almost become a laughingstock in the rest of the country.”
The commission is obligated by Kansas Supreme Court rules to keep its deliberations confidential until it decides to schedule a public hearing on a complaint. A decision to dismiss a complaint before doesn’t become public unless a person involved in the filing the complaint discloses it after receiving a letter as Newman did.
“Did they just take the word of the judge?” Huelskamp said of the commission panel. “We don’t know because they operate behind closed doors.”
Dan Monnatt, a Wichita attorney representing Tiller, said the panel’s decision is “further proof of Judge Clark’s integrity.” Monnat’s law firm made the contribution to Clark.
“Previously, I said the complaint was ridiculous because Judge Clark would never let his decisions be influenced by campaign contributions,” Monnat said. “He is uninfluenced by campaign donations because, admirably, he doesn’t even look to see who made them.”
Clark didn’t immediately return a telephone message left at his office.
Kline lost the November election to Paul Morrison, a Democrat who supports abortion rights. Before his term expired Jan. 8, Kline filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, accusing the doctor of performing illegal late-term abortions and failing to properly report details to state health officials.
Kline alleged that Tiller failed to comply with a Kansas law limiting late term abortions on viable fetuses to instances in which a patient’s life is in danger or she faces “substantial and irreversible” harm to “a major bodily function.” Monnat has said repeatedly that Kline’s charges were without merit.
The charges did not involve the federal a ban on late-term abortion procedure critics call partial-birth abortion, upheld last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tiller’s attorneys say he doesn’t use that method.
In dismissing the case, Clark agreed with Foulston that Kline didn’t have the authority to file a case in Sedgwick County because he didn’t have the district attorney’s consent. Kline had argued the attorney general can file a case anywhere.
When he took office, Morrison began his own review of the evidence Kline had collected. A spokeswoman said that Morrison is “finishing up” his investigation and will have an announcement soon about whether Tiller will be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, Newman’s organization and Kansans for Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, are backing a House resolution to reinstate Kline’s case.
The resolution would invoke a little-used law that requires the attorney general to file a lawsuit or criminal case if directed to do so by one legislative chamber.
Operation Rescue began broadcasting radio ads last week to pressure House Speaker Melvin Newfeld into scheduling debate. Legislators, who have been on break for almost three weeks, planned to reconvene Wednesday to wrap up their work for the year.
“We’re still trying to work out the best method of attack on that issue,” Neufeld, R-Ingalls, said Monday.