“If Phill Kline came up a winner in the Kansas Supreme Court this past week, as he suggested, then congratulations are long overdue to Chiefs running back Larry Johnson for being a role model and Kansas lawmakers for doing such a terrific job of preparing for the economic downturn.” – Topeka Capital-Journal columnist Ric Anderson, on the spin former Attorney General Kline put on a high court ruling that concluded Kline’s “attitude and behavior are inexcusable”
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34 Comments
Rhonda: With all due respect, this thread contains too many twists, turns and perhaps irony to make much sense to me.
I can get into the spirit of it.
My compliments to OJ Simpson for finally laying to rest all those rumors about him being an unstable maniac.
Congratulations to George W Bush for having the most successful Presidency since FDR.
Democracy brought to the Middle East, a booming economy, civil rights for ALL Americans honored, and the unborn now enjoy a complete right to life.
George W Bush…greatest President ever!
Bottom line, Kline still has the records and Tiller still is not sleeping well at night.
Phill Kline = man of honor and integrity. More guts and courage than all his detractors combined.
Kansas Supreme Court = no credibility and enough corruption to make a Illinois pol’s heart beat proud.
Phill Kline loves the limelight. The press loves the effects Kline still has on sales. Kline was a disaster for Johnson County and the republican party. It is the likes of Kline, who changed the focus of the party from what it once was – to the bible thumping gang of hypocrites it has become.
It is better he fad away along with his sad history.
I want to publicly thank Rod Blagojovich for his unquestioned integrity, his patient willingness to work with others (especially those who disagreed with him), and, most of all, for cleaning up the sullied reputation of Illinois politics.
Not all the justices agreed on the decision.
Reading the opinion, the two partial dissents are the most interesting.
“The majority opinion’s imposition of sanctions against Kline for his actions before this court presents a problem. While I recognize that this court possesses inherent power to impose sanctions in cases falling short of civil or criminal contempt, our exercise of that power must nevertheless be measured by objective standards. The fundamental problem with the majority’s decision to impose sanctions in this case is that there is no objective test–statutory or otherwise–by which the court can measure Kline’s conduct and by which attorneys can avoid such penalties in the future”. — Justice Davis
Or even stronger from Chief Justice McFarland:
“In comparison, the only conduct mentioned by the majority that relates to the failure to leave a set of records for the incoming Attorney General is Kline’s taking of the Women’s Health Care Services of Wichita, P.A. (WHCS) records to Johnson County, the failure of Kline or Stephen Maxwell to correct the Status and Disposition Report to show the WHCS records were taken to Johnson County, and the failure to reveal that he had created summaries of the records. It must also be noted that the majority specifically declines to impose sanctions on Kline for the conduct of which CHPP complains–Kline’s handling of the records during the transfer from the Attorney General’s office to the Johnson County District Attorney office and on access and dissemination of the records and their content once they were in Kline’s hands. Slip op. at 66.
This disconnect between the sanction imposed and the conduct that serves as the majority’s justification for sanction, coupled with the fact that the sanction the majority fashions could simply be ordered as relief in this mandamus action, reveals that the majority is more interested in reprimanding Kline for his attitude and behavior in the course of this litigation than in remediating the failure to leave a complete set of the investigation records for the incoming Attorney General. It appears to me that the majority invokes our extraordinary inherent power to sanction simply to provide a platform from which it can denigrate Kline for actions that it cannot find to have been in violation of any law and to heap scorn upon him for his attitude and behavior that does not rise to the level of contempt. This is the very antithesis of “restraint and discretion” and is not an appropriate exercise of our inherent power.” — Justice McFarland
—————
Wow. To repeat Justice McFarland’s statement:
“It appears to me that the majority invokes our extraordinary inherent power to sanction simply to provide a platform from which it can denigrate Kline for actions that it cannot find to have been in violation of any law and to heap scorn upon him for his attitude and behavior that does not rise to the level of contempt.”
In other words in the opinion of these two justices, one the Chief Justice, that the majority were gunning for Kline and didn’t exercise judicial proper restraint.
Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
Exactly what I was thinking.
You can make a good living defending drunks, Phill. I would recommend that: sober people might not want your services.
Maybe some wealthy congregation will give him a pulpit to continue his ministry. Finally, tax payers won’t need to support his mission.
Two words in the headline say it well: Kline weird.
Rhonda, maybe you should read the comments of the dissenting justices.
I read the comments of the two concurring opinions, and note that in both cases, the opinions took issue with the “sanctions”, not the overall decision. I guess that provides some comfort to those who support Mr. Kline, but I suggest precious little.
And, Mr. Kline does still have the original records, as his office was only ordered to provide copies to the Attorney General (which, as accurately noted by CJ McFarland, was appropriate relief under the mandamus action, and not as a sanction).
Thank you counselor. A question: after Kline leave the DA office he will no longer (legally) have anything – is that correct?
Of course, there is still that little question about ADDITIONAL copies; such as those O’Reilly accessed.
I bet he’s already scanned them into his P.C.
Kline is as big an embarrassment and disgrace to Kansas as Bush is to the USA. A matched set?
bth,
You are correct. The records garnered by the Johnson County DA’s office remain the “property” of that office, not of any individual.
The concern expressed by Phantom (and the additional copies you reference) are, IMHO, one of the reasons the final paragraph criticized by CJ McFarland appears in the opinion (along with the Kansas Supreme Court looking over the shoulder of the JoCo DA’s office to ensure compliance with the order).
I am sure the spirit one church in Wichita would give him a pulpit to speak from or fred phelps would welcome him with open arms!
Fred’s getting old. Maybe Westboro is a perfect place for Philll. Let the insanity continue.
Dennis
Klien is a freak! Klien is a freak! Come on cheer with me! lol!
Klein was never born. He is a clone of Pharisee Phred Phelps and was the result of a botched biology experiment.
Where is his birth certificate? Why has it never been produced?
he would fit in well with Chicago politics…lets send him on a one-way ticket
He could really be a big help defending the newly indicted Governor. The defendant would probably get the death penalty!
Making sure …
“Irigonegaray says he wants to prevent Kline from taking copies of patients’ medical records with him after leaving the DA’s office.”
http://www.kansas.com/news/updates/story/626748.html
“Rhonda, maybe you should read the comments of the dissenting justices.”
Why? Because they are more profound than the majority of justices on the court? Or, because their opinion reflects your own biases?
Fact: Phillip Kline used his position to pursue his pet cause of fighting abortion, a cause that first put him on the political map. Classic ends justifices the means, and the man didn’t even stop after the voters threw him out of the State AG’s office, he continued to his behavior in Johnson County.
And he paid the price.
Again.
And each day he stole from the taxpayers who expected him to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of his office.
Now he can go wherever he goes (WHO cares!?) and get someone other than taxpayers to finance his personal agenda.
I don’t know, he gets to keep the records and use them in court. The lawsuit was to keep him from doing that.
So, since he still gets to use the records, I’m thinking that’s why he thinks he won.
I mean, that is, as long as the case was about the records and not about Kline. If the hearing was about bashing Kline, then he lost; if it was about the records, he won.
The decision does nothing to ease the fears of the patients whose records Kline intentionally mishandled, and most likely distributed copies of to rabid anti factions: see for instance http://www.armyofgod.com/
The courts must make it crystal clear to Kline (and that may take some doing) that he will be held criminally and civilly liable to the fullest extent of the law if harm should come to any of those patients as a result of his betrayal of the public trust.
Has O’Lielly spoken a retraction or any story on Phill’s disaster in his doings?
Of course not.
Fact: Kline’s checking into abortion clinic records led to the arrest of Estrada whose incestuous relationship with two of his step daughters led to four pregnancies, including two abortions. He was convicted in October of 2006.
Debbie,
Bullshit! Kline didn’t even request the clinic records on that case until AFTER Estrada pleaded guilty. As usual, you good christians are trying to steal credit for what you didn’t do. Exodus 20:16-17. Try to remember it!
The paper is way to anti abortion. The newspaper has been far anti-choice for too long. Hopefully the paper will change to pro choice as a silent majority of citizens are.