Judge Assigned To Case Involving Abortion Provider Tiller Steps Down, Case To Be Reassigned

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Also Included In: Abortion;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 23 Aug 2007 - 9:00 PDT

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Sedgwick County, Kan., District Judge Anthony Powell on Friday recused himself from a case involving abortion provider George Tiller, who has been charged with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly violating a state law that requires an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term abortions, the AP/Lawrence Journal-World reports (Hegeman, AP/Lawrence Journal-World, 8/18).

State Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) in June filed charges alleging that Tiller, who owns Women's Health Care Services in Wichita, Kan., received a second opinion from physician Ann Kristin Neuhaus before performing 19 late-term abortions in 2003. Morrison said Neuhaus had financial ties with Tiller. A 1998 Kansas law says that before an abortion of a fetus of 21 weeks' gestation or more, two physicians must determine if continuation of a pregnancy will lead to death or "substantial and irreversible" harm to a "major bodily function." Consulting physicians cannot have legal or financial ties to abortion providers. Tiller's attorneys have entered a not guilty plea to the alleged misdemeanors and filed a motion to dismiss the charges. If convicted, Tiller could face up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine for each of the 19 misdemeanor charges.

Sedgwick County Chief Criminal Judge Gregory Waller earlier this month assigned Tiller's case to Powell, who served as a Republican state legislator from 1995 to 2002. Powell voted regularly for restrictions on abortion laws, including a 1998 law restricting late-term abortions. Powell in 1998 said Tiller was "defying legal and moral authority" by performing late-term abortions. Attorneys representing Tiller last week filed a motion asking that the case be assigned to another judge (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/15). Powell on Friday sent the case back to Waller to appoint another judge, the AP/Journal-World reports.

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Powell said he removed himself from the case to avoid the appearance of impropriety. "In a high-profile case such as this where the judiciary is on trial as much as the defendant, even a hint of impropriety or even the slightest appearance of partiality must be dealt with to protect our system of justice," Powell said. He added that he wanted to make it clear that he was not removing himself from the case because of his views on abortion rights or involvement in the 1998 statute. "If having pro-life views would be grounds for recusal, having pro-choice views would be equal grounds for recusal," Powell added.

Tiller attorney Lee Thompson said Powell's decision is appropriate. Ashley Anstaett, a spokesperson for Morrison, said the attorney general's office was not allowed to take a position on the recusal in court. Anstaett said that Morrison's office is "not surprised" with the decision, adding, "This will not influence our case or how we go forward" (AP/Lawrence Journal-World, 8/18).

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