Kansas Judge Denies Motion Seeking To Dismiss Petition To Convene Grand Jury Investigation Of Abortion Provider Tiller

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Also Included In: Abortion;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 04 Oct 2007 - 9:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Former Sedgwick County, Kan., Chief Judge Paul Buchanan on Monday denied a motion filed by the attorneys of abortion provider George Tiller that sought to dismiss a petition seeking to convene a grand jury to investigate Tiller, the Wichita Eagle reports (Lefler, Wichita Eagle, 10/2). The antiabortion group Kansans for Life last month delivered a petition that contained 7,857 signatures asking the Sedgwick County District Court to convene a grand jury and appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate Tiller. Petitioners want the grand jury to examine late-term abortions that Tiller performed during the past five years and the reasons cited for the abortions.

Tiller's attorneys last month filed a motion requesting that the grand jury not be convened, claiming that Tiller has been investigated several times in the past year and that another grand jury investigation would be "unfair, harassing and bad faith." U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten last month ruled against the motion and suggested Tiller's attorneys re-file the motion in state court. If the grand jury is seated, it will conduct at least the fifth investigation of Tiller since 2006, including a pending case in which state Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) has charged Tiller with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly violating a state law that requires an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term abortions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/13).

Buchanan, who came out of retirement to hear the motion, in his ruling said that a grand jury "will be summoned at an appropriate date" (Wichita Eagle, 10/2). Under state law, summons must be issued within 60 days after a grand jury petition is approved in court, the AP/Lawrence Journal-World reports.

Tiller Motion, Reaction
Tiller's attorneys said that the process of convening a grand jury in the state violates the separation of powers and results in a chilling effect on a patient's right to privacy. They added that the grand jury also would subject Tiller to malicious prosecution, a lack of due process and the right to a fair trial (Hegeman, AP/Lawrence Journal-World, 10/2). Tiller's attorneys in the motion said that the grand jury investigation would be a "vigilante effort" by "individuals who have no interest in what the law is, but with trumpeting a political agenda" (Wichita Eagle, 10/2). Lee Thompson, an attorney for Tiller, said that the groups that filed the petition would benefit financially from Tiller's prosecution. "This is a political prosecution -- not really a disinterested group of citizens bringing a petition to investigate crime," Dan Monnat, one of Tiller's other attorneys, said.

Ann Swegle, deputy Sedgwick County district attorney, said that the arguments by Tiller's attorneys were premature because the case had not begun and that there were no "extraordinary circumstances" that warranted a dismissal of the grand jury investigation (AP/Lawrence Journal-World, 10/2). Swegle added that the district attorney's office plans to advise the grand jury after it is convened. David Gittrich, development director for Kansans for Life, praised the ruling but said he is concerned that the petition organizers were not notified of the hearing and, yet the district attorney's office was notified. He added that the petition asks that the district attorney "not be involved" in the grand jury investigation (Wichita Eagle, 10/2).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.