Kansas

Judge Refuses to Block Kansas Law Restricting Insurance Coverage for Abortions

A federal judge refused Thursday to block enforcement of a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions. The law, which took effect July 1, prohibits insurance companies from offering abortion coverage as part of a general health plan, except when a woman’s life is at risk, the Associated Press…

Sep 30, 2011 9:27 PM CDT

Former Litigation Partner at Biggest Kansas Firm Gets 10 Years in Teen Sex-Enticement Case

A onetime litigation partner at the biggest firm in Kansas has been sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison. Samuel P. Logan, 46, was sentenced today for using the Internet to entice a child for sex, reports the Kansas City Star. Logan was allegedly chatting online last year, however,…

Sep 19, 2011 11:55 PM CDT

9 Charged with Felony Murder and Robbery in Slaying of Kansas Lawyer Shot to Death at Her Home

Five adults and four juveniles have been charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the killing last month of a Kansas attorney who was shot to death when she returned to her home after celebrating her 40th birthday. Natalie Gibson was killed and her female companion was injured July…

Aug 10, 2011 6:42 PM CDT

Polsinelli Ponders Another Possible Site for New Kansas City Headquarters Office

Offered another office site at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, the Polsinelli Shughart law firm may at last have found a new home following criticism of its previous plan to establish a 200,000-square-foot office elsewhere, reports the Kansas City Business Journal (sub. req.). As detailed in a prior…

Aug 5, 2011 10:38 AM CDT

Murdered Topeka Lawyer May Have Interrupted Burglary as She Came Home from Celebrating Her Birthday

A 40-year-old Kansas attorney was shot and killed and her female companion was injured when a gunman approached their vehicle as they pulled into their driveway in Topeka a little after midnight on Thursday after celebrating the lawyer’s birthday. Natalie Gibson was the city’s seventh homicide victim so far this…

Jul 22, 2011 9:50 AM CDT

Kansas U Law School Applications Plummet Almost 23 Percent

Updated: A predicted drop of as much as 20 percent in law school applications to Kansas University this year has exceeded expectations. Applications have plummeted nearly 23 percent, reports the Lawrence Journal World. “This trend of double-digit drops in applications, nearly every school in the country is experiencing this,” notes…

Jun 7, 2011 10:16 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Suspended for Failing to Pay Child Support, Owes Almost $77,000

A Kansas attorney has been suspended indefinitely by the state supreme court for failing to pay child support. Jimmie Vanderbilt was once the Jefferson County prosecutor, but hasn’t worked in that post since 2005, nor has he made regular child support payments since 2005, the court says in its Friday…

Jun 6, 2011 3:59 PM CDT

Bishop with a Penchant for Antique Books Is One of Two Lawyers Charged in $52M Ponzi Scheme

Two suburban lawyers, one of them an ordained American Anglican bishop, have been charged in a $52 million Ponzi scheme involving high-interest loans made by U.S. investors for U.K. borrowers. The priest, 62-year-old Martin Sigillito of suburban St. Louis, Mo., is charged along with a suburban Kansas City, Mo., lawyer,…

May 5, 2011 11:46 AM CDT

Fatal Collision with Cyclist Leads to Law License Suspension for Kansas Attorney

A Kansas attorney has been temporarily suspended from law practice after pleading no contest last week to felony charges related to a fatal collision with a bicyclist last year. Marc A. Schultz of Topeka will be sentenced in June for involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving…

Apr 18, 2011 7:07 PM CDT

Prosecutors and Judges to Join Police at DWI Checkpoints to Enforce New ‘No Refusal’ Law

In what is billed as a first-of-a-kind law enforcement effort in Jasper County, Mo., prosecutors and judges will be joining police at drunken-driving checkpoints, starting tonight, to enforce a new “no refusal” statute in the state. If motorists who seem to be driving while intoxicated refuse to take a breath…

Apr 1, 2011 10:21 PM CDT

Despite 1-Month Deadline Extension, Law School Apps Likely to Plummet Up to 20% at Kansas U

Reflecting a national trend, law school applications have dropped this year at Kansas University. Even though law school officials extended the deadline by a month until April 15, the total number of applications is expected to plummet 15 to 20 percent from last year’s 1,100, reports the World. Law schools…

Mar 30, 2011 12:16 AM CDT

Former AG Blasts Kansas Supreme Court During Lunch Break in His Legal Ethics Trial

Former attorney general Phill Kline went on the offensive today during a lunch break in his legal ethics trial, blasting the Kansas Supreme Court for what he called obstruction of his own legitimate investigations of abortion clinics in years past when he served as AG and Johnson County district attorney.…

Mar 3, 2011 2:01 AM CST

Kansas Appeals Court Tells Lawyer His Oft-Repeated Argument Is ‘Legally Vacuous’

Updated: A Kansas appeals court is apparently tired of hearing the same argument by the same counsel about the due process rights of drunken driving defendants facing license suspension. The lawyer for alleged drunken driver Melissa DeLong has made the same failing argument in at least half a dozen cases…

Mar 2, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Abortion Doc’s Sensitive Patient Records Were Stored in Ex-AG Employee’s Home, Ethics Panel Is Told

Under fire for allegedly mishandling sensitive patient records from an abortion doctor in addition to other claimed violations of attorney ethics rules, a former attorney general of Kansas and district attorney has contended the disciplinary case against him is politically motivated. But the No. 2 man in the AG’s office…

Feb 24, 2011 8:34 PM CST

In Facebook Age, Do Photos Carry Expectation of Privacy? Placenta Opinion Raises the Issue

A judge’s ruling on behalf of a nursing student ousted from school for a distasteful Facebook photo raises questions about expectations of privacy. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren of Kansas ruled on behalf of nursing student Doyle Byrnes, who posted a photo of herself posing with a human placenta on…

Jan 27, 2011 4:50 PM CST