Breaking: Phill Kline to hire special prosecutor to investigate Paul Morrison

[updated 3:34 p.m.]

By Diane Silver

AP has confirmed that the target is the state's current Attorney General Paul Morrison.

For the two of you out there who don't know...

Morrison and Kline are bitter political enemies. Morrison whomped Kline to win the AG's office in November 2006. Conservative precinct chairs in Johnson County then ignored voters and put Kline in as county district attorney to fill out Morrison's unfilled term as DA. The woman Morrison has admitted having an affair with is a former staffer in the DA's office who worked for both Morrison and Kline.

The Kansas City Star broke the story earlier.

Here's why this all matters.

PHOTO: The Kansas City Star provides us with the first photo of Linda Carter, and yes, she's talking to Phill Kline in this shot. Click on the link to see the full image.

[update]

Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal take on the special prosecutor.

Kansas: Phill Kline's rant misrepresents the facts & shows disregard for the law

[updated 11:05 a.m.]

Or, at least, that's what The Kansas City Star says in it's Sunday editorial about the latest escapade of the deposed Kansas attorney general/now Johnson County district attorney. Here's another shock: Kline attacks Paul Morrison, the man who defeated him in November for the AG post.

[update]

Kline also attacked the KC Star, MAINstream Coalition and a multitude of others in his email tirade.

Here's the first report of the email.

Kansas: Correcting the record on one of Phill Kline's new hires

By Diane Silver

After an inquiry from this blog, the Johnson County District Attorney's office has changed it's description of the career of the new Domestic Violence Unit chief.

Originally, the office of Phill Kline reported that the new chief, Sue Carpenter, was "most recently" a managing partner at the Overland Park law firm of Tomes and Dvorak. In fact, Carpenter never held that position and was never a partner in the firm.

This is an issue because the competency of Kline's staff has been called into question by several people who have posted comments on this blog. Outgoing prosecutors from the district attorney's office have also complained about the qualifications of newly hired staff.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Jonathan Tomes, a partner in Tomes and Dvorak, said Carpenter worked for his firm from 2000 to 2004 and that her final job title was "senior associate."

After being asked about the discrepancy, Kline's Public Information Officer Brian Burgess said via email that Carpenter's title at Tomes and Dvorak was “chief counsel and associate partner.”

Tomes told In This Moment, "We didn’t have a setup where we were going to make anybody else partner. It was just Tomes and Dvorak. Certainly, if we were going to make anyone else partner, we would have made Sue one. She was overqualified."

Carpenter was in private practice by herself for the "last two years prior" to starting at the district attorney's office, Burgess said.

"The mistake is mine and was made while trying to put together a press release on short notice," Burgess said in his email.

Carpenter became section chief in late April after Kline fired her predecessor, Jacqie Spradling.

At the time Carpenter was touted in a press release from Kline's office that read (emphasis is mine):

Sue joins the staff with 15 years of experience as a prosecutor with the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office, where her duties included child abuse prosecution, as well as sexual assault and drug cases. Sue has prosecuted numerous homicide cases and has extensive experience in domestic violence. In addition, she has 14 years of experience in private practice, most recently as a managing partner with the law firm of Tomes & Dvorak.

That press release was changed to reflect Burgess' version of Carpenter's titles on the office web site at about 8 this morning.

Since Carpenter was named to the domestic violence position, information came out about Carpenter's censure by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1991.

Kansas: The 1991 censure of Phill Kline's new domestic violence chief & other worries

By Diane Silver

The Kansas City Star today explored the public censure of Sue Carpenter, who took over the Johnson County domestic violence unit after new District Attorney Phill Kline fired the former chief.

I have to admit to being of two minds about this story. I knew about this more than a week ago and decided to sit on it until I could investigate it in depth. I'm pleased to see that the Star put some time into the story. I hadn't, yet, been able to look into this. The Star raises some valid issues and does a good job of looking at all of what happened.

I can see why this incident is worrisome. It ended in an overturned conviction and Shawnee County having to pay $250,000 to the wronged defendant. The Star reports:

In an interview this week, the president of the Johnson County Bar Association said the censure was a concern to many.

“Whenever someone spends two years in custody and it (the case) gets reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct and then not refiled, you’ve got to worry about their (the prosecutor’s) decision-making abilities and the exercise of their discretion. And we are worried,” said Scott Gyllenborg, a defense attorney and a former Johnson County prosecutor.

The factor that makes me unwilling to scream about this, though, is that this event occurred 16 years ago. Obviously, serious mistakes were made in 1991, but then again, I remember committing more than few idiocies in my career. Thank goodness, none of them sent anyone to jail.

What worries me more is the fact that a respected and experienced assistant DA who, as far as I know, was never censured was let go. I'm also concerned by a little throw-away paragraph in the middle of the story. It reads:

Carpenter was an assistant district attorney in Shawnee County from 1979 to 1993, according to that county. She also spent about two years working for Tomes & Dvorak, Chartered, of Overland Park.

I suspect I'm missing something. Perhaps a bit of information got cut out of the story, but what I'd like to know is whether Carpenter was working as an attorney recently. I hesitate to make much out of this because I haven't had a chance to check on it myself or to check with reporter Diane Carroll, but something is not quite right with that paragraph.

If it is reporting on ALL of Carpenter's experience as a lawyer, then what has she been doing recently? If her two years as a private practice attorney came immediately after her work in the Shawnee County DA's office, then Carpenter hasn't practiced as an attorney since 1995 or 1996.

Is this true? Or am I reading this wrong? Inquiring minds want to know.

Kansas: Phill Kline, a possible office bugging & accusations of mistreatment of women

By Diane Silver

The saga of ousted Kansas Attorney General/new Johnson County District Attorney Phil Kline continues. The latest chapter: A veteran DA says she was fired Tuesday after complaining about the Kline-era treatment of women in the prosecutor's office.

It gets better...

Jacqie Spradling says its possible that her office was bugged after she sent a memo to Kline with her complaints. And even better...

Spradling isn't an off-the-wall nutcake. She has worked for the Johnson County's DA office for 15 years and been in charge of the domestic violence unit for the last eight years. The Kansas City Star reports that Spradling is so well respected that she wasn't without help when she moved out of her office.

In a show of solidarity, about a dozen police officers helped Spradling pack up her belongings from the district attorney’s office this morning and carry boxes to her truck.

Honestly, it seems like war has broken out between the various Johnson County law enforcement agencies since Kline took over.

Kline and his people deny everything, of course.

Meanwhile, Spradling says she is fighting to get her job back.

“I am deeply saddened and I am worried for the victims of domestic violence and all crime victims in Johnson County,” Spradling said in the statement. “The DA’s office has lost 17 attorneys since Kline’s appointment and we should all be concerned about the systematic destruction of that office since Kline’s arrival.”

One of the most interesting parts of Spradling's statement is her contention that "Phill Kline has other priorities" than providing the best protection and best prosecutors for county crime victims. Other priorities? Doesn't that sound familiar.

Kansas: Phill Kline & the Johnson County DA's office see another exodus

by Diane Silver

I'm late picking up on this, but I do want to note that it looks like six attorneys have resigned from the Johnson County District Attorney's office since Phill Kline took over.

That is in addition to the eight staff members Kline fired on his first day in office. Seven of the fired staff were attorneys. One was the office's chief investigator. Those eight are now suing Kline.

The notice of the resignations was in a small item in the Kansas City Star. (Scroll down) The Star notes the departure of four attorneys, which follows up on the earlier departure of two other attorneys.

If these figures are correct, and I'm understanding this right, that means the DA's office of one of the most prominent counties in the state has just lost 13 attorneys plus it's chief investigator.

I can't pretend to have any expertise in how a DA's office runs, but I do know what it's like to lose staff. Even if you replace old staff with the best, most qualified people in the world, it takes time for them to get up to speed on their jobs. To have so many people leaving the DA's office at the same time can't be good news for the folks of Johnson County.

Kansas: The Johnson County 8 finally get their hearings, but Phill Kline refuses to participate

By Diane Silver

Integrity. Compassion. Accountability.

Those are just a few of the concepts current Johnson County District Attorney and former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline seem to have missed in his all-religion, all-the-time approach to public service.

Case in point: The grievance hearings now being conducted for the eight staffers he fired within hours of being sworn in as the new DA in the suburban Kansas City County. Guess who isn't there? Why, ole' Phill himself.

Kansas: Tomorrow you can ask Phill Kline what he really intends to do

By Diane Silver

All you disgruntled folks over in Johnson County, here is your chance to ask your new district attorney what he really intends to do in your neighborhood.

While you're at it you might also press him on a few other topics. Apparently, there is a rumor that ole' Phill isn't spending much time in the office these days.

Kline is having town hall meetings starting tomorrow. They will be at:

•10 a.m. Tomorrow (Saturday), Overland Park Community Center, 87th and Lamar streets.
•10 a.m. March 24, Sylvester Powell Jr. Community Center, 6200 Martway in Mission.

The Kansas City Star kept up its Kline watch today by printing an interesting, and slightly frustrating, question and answer session with the former attorney general. Star reporter Diane Carroll did a good job of asking the questions. Unfortunately, Kline did a good job of dodging them.

Meanwhile, the Star also reports that the staff Kline fired within hours of taking office will get grievance hearings, although neither Kline nor his office may attend. Kline's actions were seen as being so nasty that one Republican senator has introduced a bill to make certain a district attorney can't gut his own office this way again.

And so it goes in beautiful Johnson County...

Kansas: As district attorney, Phill Kline says he's above the law -- or at least the rules

[updated 7:30 a.m. 1/17/07]

By Diane Silver

The dispute between new Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline and the eight employees he fired on his first day on the job is going to court.

The KC Star reports that the seven prosecutors and chief investigator filed by Kline filed suit against the new DA today in Johnson County District Court.

What's really curious about this situation is that Kline claims that he is above the rules of the county, which declare that employees can only be fired for cause. Unlike his predecesser, Paul Morrison, Kline believes he can ignore rules and guidelines. All of which leads me to wonder if one of the county's chief law enforcement officers also believes he is above the law.

The Star explains:

In a letter to (county) commissioners Friday, Kline said state statute designates him as an executive officer of the 10th judicial district. Under the statute, the letter states, his office is considered “a separate entity within said district for administrative purposes.” In addition, the letter said, a district attorney is not bound by a county’s personnel policies or rules.

As always with this darling of the religious right, the story never seems to end. Stay tuned.

[Update]

This news doesn't deserve an entire post to itself because it's a kinda yes-kinda no, ah, kinda thing. A Johnson County district judge has ordered Kline to participate in the county's normal grievance procedure and to actually go to grievance hearings with his fired employees. (That's the good new.) However, that order is on hold until a hearing can be held by another judge on Tuesday. (Not so good.)

Once again, stay tuned for further developments.

Kansas: It's official. Johnson County GOP picks Phill Kline as district attorney

By Diane Silver

This is bizarre, insane and probably the best political present Johnson County Democrats could ever get.

The suburban Kansas City Republican committee has just chosen the recently ousted Kansas attorney general, Phill Kline, to replace the man who creamed him at the polls on Nov. 7. It is true: Kline will take over for Democrat Paul Morrison as the county district attorney.

This is despite the fact that Kline has little to no experience as a prosecutor or in criminal law. Kline will serve out the last two years of Morrison's term as DA, while Morrison takes over as the attorney general of the state. Morrison was elected DA as a Republican and later switched to the Democratic Party to run against Kline.

In the vote that was just completed, Kline "beat the other nominee Steve Howe by 21 votes," KC's Channel 9 TV reports. Kline was put into office by anti-abortion crusaders and the ultra-conservative wing of the county party. The vote was even held at the Westside Family Church.

To show how out of touch the conservatives are in Johnson County, in the race for attorney general, Kline could only dredge up 35 percent of the vote in the county where he will now act as district attorney.

It will be fascinating to see what the voters of Johnson County make of all this. It will be fascinating to see if Kline has even a whisper of a chance of winning the DA's office when he comes up for election in 2008.