Phill Kline

Infobox_Politician
name= Phill Kline


caption=
office= Kansas Attorney General
term_start= January 6, 2003
term_end=January 8, 2007
predecessor= Carla Stovall
successor= Paul J. Morrison
birth_date= Birth date and age|1959|12|31|mf=y
birth_place= Kansas City, Kansas
death_date=
death_place=
spouse= Deborah Kline
profession= Attorney
party= Republican
footnotes=

Phillip D. "Phill" Kline (born December 31, 1959) is the district attorney of Johnson County, Kansas, USA. From January 2003 to January 2007, he was the Attorney General of Kansas. [The Kansas City Star, [http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/16411220.htm "Kline, Morrison sworn in"] , January 8, 2007.] Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as attorney general to Democratic challenger Paul Morrison on November 7, 2006, 58%-41%. [The Lawrence Journal-World, [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/politics/elections/2006/kansas/ag/ "Race for Attorney General"] . Retrieved January 8, 2007.] Kline became the district attorney of Johnson County on the day he left office as attorney general, effectively switching jobs with Morrison. Kline then ran for a full term as district attorney, but Steve Howe defeated Kline in the August 5, 2008, Republican primary. [cite news |first=Diane |last=Carroll |title=Howe’s effort topples Kline |url=http://www.kansascity.com/383/story/735933.html |work=Kansas City Star |date= |accessdate=2008-08-06]

Early life and political career

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Kline grew up in Shawnee, a community on the Kansas side of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. He was the third of five children; his father abandoned the family when Kline was five years old, leaving his mother to be a single parent."Family, past shape Kline's efforts as attorney general," "Wichita Eagle", October 8, 2006.]

He graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School and subsequently attended the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, on a partial wrestling scholarship, earning a B.S. in business communications in 1982. During college, he was a news broadcaster for Kansas City, Missouri, AM radio station WHB. Afterward, in order to save money for law school, he worked in public relations for the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun amusement parks in Kansas City. He received his J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1987, and was an Associate Editor for the Kansas Law Review. He entered private practice as an associate with Blackwell Sanders, a large law firm in Kansas City, Missouri, specializing in corporate law. He married his wife, Deborah, in 1989, and settled back in Shawnee, close to where he grew up. The Klines have one daughter, Hillary, born in 1992.

After leaving Blackwell Sanders, Kline hosted two radio programs: "The Phill and Mary Show" on Kansas City AM station KMBZ, and "Face Off With Phill Kline" on Topeka AM station WIBW. He also served as the finance director of the Johnson County Republican Committee.

While still a law student, Kline ran for U.S. Congress in 1986. Kline won the Republican primary election but was defeated in the general election by the incumbent, Democrat Jim Slattery. In 1992, Kline won election to the Kansas House of Representatives, where he represented the 18th District. which included Shawnee. There, he chaired the House Appropriations Committee and was a member of several oversight committees. He was a member of the advisory committee for Kansas Senator Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign. Kline remained in the Kansas House until 2000, when he ran for election to the United States House of Representatives, seeking the Third District seat held by Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore. Although Kline won the Republican primary, he ultimately was unsuccessful in the general election.

Attorney General of Kansas

In 2002, Kline won election as attorney general of Kansas, defeating fellow Republican David Adkins of Leawood in the primary and Democrat Chris Biggs of Junction City in the general election. On becoming attorney general, Kline and his family moved to Topeka.

Kansas v. Marsh

In December 2005 and April 2006, he successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States in "Kansas v. Marsh", wherein the Court reversed a ruling made by the Kansas Supreme Court that the state's death penalty was unconstitutional.Fact|date=August 2007

Abortion controversy

In 2003, Kline began investigating possible cases of child rape and illegal partial-birth and late-term abortions. In doing so, Kline requested the medical records of 90 women and girls who either gave birth to a child or had an abortion. As of October 2006, the 90 subpoenaed medical records remain sealed. [ [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15634596.htm "http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15634596.htm"] ]

On December 21, 2006, Kline charged abortion provider Dr. George Tiller with more than 30 misdemeanors, most involving abortions Tiller allegedly performed on minors. But just hours after the charges were unsealed, a Sedgwick County judge threw them out "at the request of Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston, who said her office had not been consulted by Kline." [Roxana Hegeman, " [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/22/D8M63MTG1.html Charges Against Kan. Abortion Doc Dumped] ", Associated Press, December 22, 2006 (accessed December 22, 2006).] However, on June 28, 2007, a 19-count indictment was unexpectedly filed against Tiller by Kline's successor, Paul Morrison.

In a related matter, Kline was named a defendant in a suit brought in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas challenging a state law requiring "doctors and other professionals" [ [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/18/kansas.underage.sex.ap/index.html "http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/18/kansas.underage.sex.ap/index.html"] ] to report "all consensual underage sexual activity as sexual abuse.""Aid for Women v. Foulston", 427 F.Supp.2d 1093, 1095 (D. Kan. 2006).] On April 18, 2006, Judge J. Thomas Marten agreed and issued a permanent injunction, ruling that such a policy was contrary to state law.

In 2006, Operation Rescue and Phil Kline claimed that an alleged rapist was captured with the help of abortion clinic medical records subpoenaed as a result of Kline's investigation.Fact|date=August 2007 The District Attorney who prosecuted Estrada challenged Operation Rescue's claims, stating that Kline and the records had no involvement in the prosecution. [ [http://www.cjonline.com/stories/100306/leg_kline2.shtml D.A. says Kline wasn't involved] ]

"Limon v. Kansas"

During his tenure, in the case of "Limon v. State", Kline defended a Kansas law which provided substantially higher sentencing guidelines for acts of homosexual statutory rape compared to equivalent heterosexual acts. A Kansas trial court upheld the law, the Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed that decision, and the Supreme Court of Kansas declined to hear the case. The party challenging the law, Matthew Limon, applied to the Supreme Court of the United States for a writ of certiorari. In June 2003, the Supreme Court issued a GVR Order, remanding the case for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court's then-recent decision in "Lawrence v. Texas", which held that a similar Texas law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Attorney General's office continued to pursue the matter, seeking to distinguish the Kansas law from the Texas law. The Kansas Court of Appeals upheld the earlier decision 2-1, but the Kansas Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Limon and overturned his conviction in 2005.Fact|date=July 2008

2006 and 2008 re-election campaigns

Kline ran for re-election as attorney general in 2006. On November 7, 2006, he lost to Democratic challenger and Johnson County District Attorney Paul J. Morrison, who had received more than $1.5 million in campaign support from pro-choice groups; [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102402345.html A New Front in the Abortion Wars] , washingtonpost.com.] Kline received 41 percent of the vote.Peter Slevin, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/29/AR2006122901220.html Trounced at Polls, Kansas GOP Is Still Plagued by Infighting] , "Washington Post", December 30, 2006, p. A2.] In order to oppose Kline in the general election, Morrison had changed his political affiliation from Republican to Democratic in the fall of 2005.

On December 11, 2006, Johnson County Republican Precinct Committeepersons narrowly selected Kline over fellow Republican Steve Howe to serve the remaining two years of Morrison's term as county district attorney, a move causing controversy. With 60% of the vote, Howe defeated Kline in the August 5, 2008, Republican primary for a full term as district attorney.

Church memorandum controversy

In late September 2006, an internal election campaign memo from Kline to his campaign staff was leaked to the The Interfaith Alliance and quickly was picked up by bloggers, resulting in much discussion and controversy. [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06c/kline_memo.html Kansas Attorney General writes orders for a reelection campaign operation "in each church"] , JewsOnFirst.org.] [Bruce Wilson, [http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/9/19/123927/589 Kansas Attorney General Kline's Leaked Memo For Church Involvement In Politics] , Talk To Action.] In the memo, Kline tells his staff how to form a campaign committee for him at each church that will educate and register voters, "encourage people to contribute and volunteer," and network with their own email lists. [ [http://www.jewsonfirst.org/06c/kline_memo.pdf Kline memo] , JewsOnFirst.org] Kline has defended the memo and the mobilization of churches it calls for, insisting it does not violate IRS regulations governing the tax-exempt status of churches, [ [http://www.cjonline.com/stories/091506/leg_agdebate.shtml Kline defends memo during debate] , "Topeka Capital-Journal", September 15, 2006.] under which a church stands to lose its tax-exempt status for officially supporting a political candidate, if the Commissioner of Internal Revenue determines so.

Work Attendance and Residency Controversy

KCTV, a Kansas City CBS affiliate, aired an investigative report that addressed accusations that Kline did not reside within Johnson County as required by state law, and that he spent an inadequate amount of time at the district attorney's office. [ [http://www.kctv5.com/news/14699737/detail.html KCTV5 News Investigates Phill Kline - News Story - KCTV Kansas City ] ] Kline rents a small apartment in Stilwell, and is registered to vote from that location. The KCTV reporters said in their report they were unable to observe Kline or his family at the address. During the course of this investigation, Kline was tailed by reporters from Johnson County back to Topeka, the location of his primary residence. [ [http://www.kctv5.com/news/14699737/detail.html KCTV5 News Investigates Phill Kline - News Story - KCTV Kansas City ] ] The Johnson County Sheriff's Office initially refused KCTV-5 access to records that log ID card passes at the Johnson County Courthouse garage, citing security concerns. Through exercise of the Freedom of Information Act, KCTV initially received redacted and incomplete records via the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. According to the report, the security system only saves 90 days worth of data and purged much of the electronic records in question. [ [http://www.kctv5.com/news/14699737/detail.html KCTV5 News Investigates Phill Kline - News Story - KCTV Kansas City ] ] The KCTV report also suggested that Kline spent an inadequate amount of time in the Johnson Country District Attorney's Office, often only spending a couple of hours a day in the office, averaging only 29 hours per week. [ [http://www.kctv5.com/news/14699737/detail.html KCTV5 News Investigates Phill Kline - News Story - KCTV Kansas City ] ]

References

External links

* [http://da.jocogov.org/ Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline] (official website)
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2135328?nav=nw "Slate" Op-Ed article on Kline] "
* [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/15649791.htm "Kansas City Star" Op-Ed article on Kline/SB 323] "
* [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTU3ZmQ5ZDE4NjlmNzRiYzAyMGU4MWQ0OWI4NjA0NTQ=] National Review Online Interview with Kline