Kansas

Lawyer Could Be a Nigerian King

A Kansas lawyer says he’ll throw his hat in the ring to become a Nigerian king, but his election may turn on a priest’s consultation with the gods. Kansas City lawyer Adebayo Ogunmeno, 54, came to the United States when he was in his 20s and graduated from Washburn University…

Dec 3, 2009 2:04 PM CST

Kansas Ethics Opinion Requires Disclosure on Ghostwritten Pleadings

Lawyers who ghostwrite court documents for clients seeking to hold down legal costs will have to disclose their role in the drafting, according to a Kansas legal ethics opinion. The economic downturn is spurring more penny-pinching clients to ask lawyers to handle only parts of their representation—part of the trend…

Dec 1, 2009 6:53 PM CST

Lawyer Under Fire for Using Dud Grenade in Closing

Sheriff’s officers are investigating a Kansas attorney for criminal use of explosives after they learned he used a dead grenade as a prop during his closing statements at a trial Monday. Lawyer Sam Kepfield pulled the dud grenade out to make a point in a forgery and theft case against…

Nov 25, 2009 8:44 PM CST

Roeder Reportedly Admits Killing Abortion Doc, May Plan ‘Necessity’ Defense

Defendant Scott Roeder has reportedly admitted to several news organizations that he killed Dr. George Tiller as the physician was serving as an usher in his Wichita, Kan., church in May, slaying the slaying was justified because Tiller performed abortions. The Associated Press initially broke the story, which was based…

Nov 10, 2009 10:40 PM CST

Gambler Embezzles $88K, Wins $96K Grand Prize in 2nd-Chance Drawing

After embezzling some $88,000 from his ex-employer to purchase scratch-off lottery tickets, a former radio executive got some good news during a recent court hearing: Paul Lyle was told he had won the grand prize, which has an estimated value of $96,000, in a second-chance drawing for those whose scratch-off…

Oct 2, 2009 11:08 PM CDT

Kansas City Court Workers Asked to Provide DNA after iPhone Theft

Employees at the Kansas City, Mo., municipal court say they were asked to submit to DNA tests and polygraph exams after the presiding judge had her iPhone stolen and another judge had $79 stolen from her purse. Three police detectives were assigned to investigate, the Kansas City Star reports. “Some…

Sep 8, 2009 2:08 PM CDT

Lawyers Turn a 2002 RV into a Mobile Law Office

Two lawyers with offices in Kansas and Missouri didn’t want to meet with clients in courthouse stairwells, so they decided to take their office with them. Lawyers Chris Meek and Nathan Coleman bought a 2002 Volkswagen Rialta and turned the recreational vehicle into a traveling law office, the Joplin Globe…

Aug 25, 2009 6:30 PM CDT

UPL Defendant Stays in Jail Because He Won’t Sign Promise Not to Practice

A Topeka, Kan., businessman who ran a company called Pro Se Advocates remains in jail because he won’t sign a document promising he won’t practice law. The Kansas Supreme Court found businessman David Price in contempt of court on Aug. 6 for practicing law without a license, the Associated Press…

Aug 19, 2009 4:42 PM CDT

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