Hearing Date Set Before KS Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood Case

 

There's been some important legal developments in the case against Planned Parenthood in Kansas. 

Former Kansas Attorney General and now the Johnson County District Attorney, Phill Kline, is represented by a team of attorneys including lawyers from the ACLJ.  On Wednesday, Kline filed a brief with the Kansas Supreme Court arguing that his office has taken the proper care in handling records from Planned Parenthood - records that Kline has been using to determine whether abortion clinics have violated state laws.

In October, Kline charged Planned Parenthood with manufacturing abortion reports and performing illegal late-term abortions in 2003. The records are a very important part of Kline's case.

The Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments June 12th regarding several issues - including whether the Planned Parenthood records were appropriately stored and shared by Kline's office. Planned Parenthood sued Kline in an effort to have its records returned so they can't be used as evidence against Planned Parenthood.  At the same time, ACLJ attorneys will present arguments to the high court urging the Kansas Supreme Court to dismiss the case against Kline.

On Wednesday, one of Kline's attorneys, Caleb Stegall of Perry, Kansas told reporters that a report from a fact-finder appointed by the Supreme Court should put to rest all of the "gratuitous attacks" that have been leveled against Kline regarding his prosecution of Planned Parenthood.

In a statement issued by Stegall:  "The level of scrutiny applied to the actions of District Attorney Kline in this case is unprecedented in Kansas law and far exceeds even that level of scrutiny applied to the most serious criminal prosecutions.  Even so, District Attorney Klines actions in the handling of this matter have been fully vindicated by the intense factual scrutiny."

ACLJ attorneys Edward White and Carly Gammill are part of the legal team representing Kline. 

According to Edward White, "Planned Parenthood, as a criminal defendant, is attempting to thwart a valid criminal prosecution by having the Supreme Court order Kline to return evidence of criminal activity.  Such a result would be an unprecedented invasion of the province of a prosecutor to enforce the laws of his State."

Every judge who has reviewed the evidence Kline has gathered against Planned Parenthood has determined there is probable cause to believe that Planned Parenthood has committed crimes against Kansas law.  Such probable cause determinations have led Kline to file 107 criminal counts against Planned Parenthood, including charges of performing illegal abortions and falsifying documents to hide criminal activity.

At the same time, it's important to note that Planned Parenthood receives millions in federal taxpayer funds -- more than 550-million dollars in federal taxpayer funds in the last two years alone.  They cant use federal funds to perform abortions.  But the fact is every dollar they receive for other purposes frees up another dollar for abortions.

Our attorneys also assert that in addition to enforcing Kansas criminal laws, one important part of this prosecution is for the public to learn whether their money is funding an organization engaged in blatantly illegal activity. 

We're continuing to push Congress to defund Planned Parenthood - and this latest case out of Kansas is just one more example of why your tax dollars should be off limits to organizations like Planned Parenthood.  You can add your name to our Petition to Defund Planned Parenthood here.

The latest developments in Kansas come just days after the Kansas Supreme Court unsealed the case against Kline.

One of the unsealed documents is the 44-page report of Judge David King, the special master appointed by the Court to hold a fact-finding hearing, conducted over five days this past November and December.  The report refutes Planned Parenthoods claims that Kline lacks the authority to possess and use the medical records in his criminal prosecution.  The report also indicates the absence of any factual basis for Planned Parenthoods claim that Kline improperly distributed copies of the records to the media and to the Kansas Legislature.

The ACLJ is preparing for the oral arguments before the Kansas high court - now just two weeks away.  We will keep you posted on developments in this very important case.