Kansas

Fire Destroys Law Office of Indicted Kansas Attorney

A fire early yesterday destroyed the Kansas City, Kan., law office of Rosie Quinn and Associates. The office, which is located at Fifth Street and Troup Avenue, was already filed with smoke when firefighters arrived at about 2 a.m., and bars on the building’s windows and doors made it difficult…

Jun 30, 2009 9:42 AM CDT

Man Who Held Wife Hostage in Kansas Law Office Gets 18 Yrs

A man who held his wife and several others hostage for several hours at the Kansas law firm where she worked has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. The sentence came after Nathan Cunningham entered a guilty plea and admitted to entering the law office of David Holmes in…

Jun 24, 2009 1:20 PM CDT

DOJ to Probe Abortion Doc’s Murder; When Does Protest Become Criminal?

Following news Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice would investigate the slaying of a well-known physician who performed late-term abortions in Wichita, Kan., a famous U.S. Supreme Court case has suddenly become a hot topic of conversation. As the DOJ announced that it would “work tirelessly to determine the…

Jun 8, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Lawyer for Slain Abortion Doc Says He Never Showed Fear

A lawyer who represented slain abortion provider George Tiller said his client usually wore a bulletproof vest and drove a custom-made bulletproof SUV, but outwardly he appeared confident. “I never detected fear in him,” lawyer Dan Monnat told Inside Politics Daily. “He knew what he was doing was morally right,…

Jun 1, 2009 11:39 AM CDT

Court Cites Short-Lived ‘Branded’ TV Show in Nixing Sex Offender Signs

A short-lived TV Western proved inspirational to the Kansas Court of Appeals as it considered an unusual probation requirement in the case of an admitted sex offender. A trial judge had required Leroy Schad, 72, to place signs outside his house and on his car warning that a sex offender…

Apr 24, 2009 5:51 PM CDT

Ex-Chief Counsel Censured After Camera Catches Cafeteria Food Theft

The former chief counsel at nylon and spandex maker Invista has received a public censure after a camera caught him stealing food from his company cafeteria. Troy Ellis was disciplined by the Kansas Supreme Court for the 2007 cafeteria caper at Invista’s Wichita office, the National Law Journal reports. Ellis,…

Apr 20, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

Late-Term Abortion Doc Acquitted of 19 Charges

A Kansas doctor known for being one of a very few in the U.S. willing to perform late-term abortions has been acquitted of charges that did so against state law. Jurors deliberated less than an hour Friday before reaching not guilty verdicts on all 19 counts against Wichita Dr. George…

Mar 30, 2009 4:28 PM CDT

Former Kansas AG Faces Ethics Probe; Are Abortion Cases the Reason?

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and two of his deputies have been notified they are facing a state ethics probe. The letter to Kline and deputies Stephen Maxwell and Eric Rucker did not state the reason for the probe, according to the Associated Press and the Wichita Eagle. But…

Feb 27, 2009 1:32 PM CST

Another Federal Judge Allows Twitter Coverage of Trial

Another federal judge—this one in Wichita, Kan.–will allow a reporter to cover a trial using the micro-blogging service Twitter. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said Wichita Eagle reporter Ron Sylvester may cover the trial of six accused gang members using Twitter, Sylvester reports at his blog What the Judge…

Feb 24, 2009 4:59 PM CST

Lawyer & Staff Allegedly Held Hostage in Kan. Office Before Gunman Gives Up

Following a seven-hour standoff, a suspect who allegedly initially held an attorney and office staff hostage, after he entered a Hutchinson, Kan., law office armed with a .25-caliber handgun, was arrested and charged last night. Attorney David Holmes and his staff reportedly were released within an hour of when the…

Feb 20, 2009 5:53 PM CST

Ad Cites Town’s ‘Dire Need for an Attorney’

The town of Sedan, Kan., has a lawyer shortage, according to an ad in the state’s bar journal. “WE, THE PEOPLE of Sedan, Kan., have a dire need for an attorney,” the ad reads. “Chautauqua County has one remaining attorney who is looking forward to retirement. … Sedan can provide…

Jan 28, 2009 3:52 PM CST

Prosecutor Gets 6-Month Suspension for Showing Teen Sex Photos to Parents

A prosecutor in Kansas who suffers from a form of autism has been suspended from practice for six months for showing sexually explicit photographs to parents of some teenagers who attended a 2007 party at which alcohol was served. One teen attendee, who was photographed having intercourse after reportedly downing…

Jan 20, 2009 10:43 PM CST

Traffic Ticket, Friends and True Grit Helped Single Mom Become Lawyer

Latina Alston freely admits that she has made some mistakes in life, and, at not quite 30 years old, she is raising three children although she has never been married. However, she has also accomplished a feat that others with far more money and far fewer family responsibilities have failed…

Dec 23, 2008 4:59 PM CST

Kansas High Court Asked to Decide: Can Judges Fill Out Questionnaires?

A federal court has asked the Kansas Supreme Court to weigh in on a question of state law: Can state judges ethically fill out questionnaires that ask them about their opinions on issues that are likely to come before them? On the one hand, judges have a First Amendment right…

Sep 5, 2008 9:14 PM CDT

Kansas Settles ‘Kiss and Tell’ Teen Sex Reporting Case

The Center for Reproductive Rights and the state of Kansas have agreed to a $475,000 settlement of a lawsuit prompted by a sweeping 2003 attorney general opinion that required health clinics, especially abortion clinics, to report incidents of teen sex. In 2006, the center won a restraining order in federal…

Aug 8, 2008 2:19 PM CDT