Kansas

Testing Seat Belt Law, Kansas Man Buckles Up in an Unusual Manner

Kansas law requires motorists to buckle up. But it doesn’t say their seat belts have to be attached to their vehicles, Paul Weigand argues. Due to a phobia about being trapped by a seat belt during an accident, he developed a special freestanding seat belt that he wears even when…

Jan 6, 2011 11:54 PM CST

Did Feds Use ‘Nuclear Bomb’ Grand Jury Subpoena to Silence Critic? Supreme Court May Decide

When a federal prosecutor tried to get a gag order against an outspoken critic of a case holding two Midwestern doctors criminally accountable for prescribing pain medication, a judge said no, citing the First Amendment. But then the prosecutor issued what Siobhan Reynolds describes as a “nuclear bomb” of a…

Nov 1, 2010 8:39 PM CDT

Husch Blackwell Confirms Layoffs of Nearly 20 Lawyers Last Month

Nearly 20 lawyers were laid off last month at Husch Blackwell, the law firm has confirmed to the Am Law Daily. “As is our firm’s practice, we constantly monitor our attorney staffing to match the level of experience, expertise and depth necessary to service our clients’ workload needs,” a firm…

Oct 6, 2010 8:42 PM CDT

103-Year-Old Federal Judge Is ‘Sharp and Capable’ and Still on the Job

U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown, one of four Kennedy appointees still on the bench, is nearing a record. In less than a year, the 103-year-old Wichita judge will be (God willing) the oldest practicing judge in the history of the federal bench, the New York Times reports. Brown’s “mere presence…

Sep 17, 2010 12:57 PM CDT

Judge Refuses to Halt Merit-Based Judicial Nominating Process

A federal judge has denied a request to stop the state of Kansas from filling judicial vacancies through a so-called merit-based selection process. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot refused Tuesday to grant a temporary restraining order against a judicial nominating committee charged with selecting finalists to replace former Kansas Supreme…

Sep 16, 2010 9:24 PM CDT

Suit Seeks to Block Appointment of Kansas Supreme Court Judge

The supremely successful election-law gadfly, provocateur and mover-and-shaker James Bopp Jr. is at it again, already. The earth is still trembling from the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year, in a case Bopp developed, that the First Amendment protects unlimited corporate spending on independent campaign advertising, in Citizens United v.…

Aug 27, 2010 3:26 PM CDT

Lawyer Suspended for Overbilling Is Disbarred for Continuing to Practice

The Kansas Supreme Court has disbarred a Lawrence lawyer for continuing to practice after he was suspended for overbilling the state insurance department. Lawyer Chris Miller had argued he was acting more as a law clerk, legal assistant or receptionist during his two-year suspension, but the Kansas Supreme Court disagreed,…

Aug 16, 2010 4:07 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Sexual Harassment Says Testosterone Meds Made Him Do It

A Kansas lawyer accused of sexually harassing five judicial assistants over a two-year period claimed that a medication he was taking for low testosterone levels made him do it. Chauncey M. Depew, who does criminal and traffic defense work, told the court that a testosterone medication he had been taking…

Aug 13, 2010 7:28 PM CDT

Panel: Suspended Lawyer Only Pretended Not to Practice and Should Be Disbarred

After his law license was suspended, a prominent Kansas attorney essentially kept right on practicing, bringing in another lawyer to serve as the public front of his law firm but continuing to operate it himself from behind the scenes, contends a state attorney disciplinary panel. It is now recommending that…

Apr 29, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

Lawyer in Hot Water for Helping Newspaper Reporter Write About Prison Sex

A Kansas attorney could have his law license suspended for helping a newspaper reporter interview inmates for a story about alleged illegal sex and the trafficking of contraband within the Topeka Correctional Facility. An investigator with the state’s office of attorney discipline has recommended a six-month suspension for Keen Umbehr,…

Apr 19, 2010 9:11 PM CDT

Bookkeeper Gets 51 Months for Stealing $948K From Law Firm

A former bookkeeper at a Wichita, Kan., law firm has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for stealing $948,000 while she was still employed there. Vicki Olivarez pleaded guilty to forging signatures on two checks while working at the Pistotnik Law Offices. She also admitted that she repeatedly wrote…

Apr 13, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Law Student Refocuses on NBA, Says Chance of Being Drafted Better Than Legal Job

Last year, Ryan McAteer says, he had a paid internship and a credit score over 600. But this year, given the scarcity of legal jobs, the per diem and the paid shoe contract for professional players persuaded second-year University of Kansas law student to declare himself as a candidate for…

Apr 12, 2010 9:10 PM CDT

Courthouse Cooler Warned of Explosion But Actually Contained Phone Books

A note on a soft-sided cooler outside the federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City, Mo., today said its contents would explode. But after the building was evacuated and a number of employees were sent home for the day, investigators determined that the cooler contained phone books, Fox News and the…

Apr 5, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

Roeder Gets Harshest Possible ‘Hard 50’ Life Term in Kansas Abortion Doc Murder

Updated: Facing a mandatory life sentence for the murder of a Kansas abortion doctor in a Wichita church, Scott Roeder got the harshest possible sentence today—life with the possibility of parole only after 50 years. Alternatively, Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert could have given Roeder a sentence allowing parole…

Apr 1, 2010 10:05 PM CDT

Meet Wesley Brown: At 102, He’s the Oldest Active Federal Judge in U.S.

First appointed to the federal bench by President Kennedy in 1962, U.S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown bore witness to the tumultuous civil rights era. In his lifetime, he’s experienced the advent of radio, television and the Internet. And he’s still going to work in Wichita, Kan., every day, even…

Mar 3, 2010 6:08 PM CST