Kansas

Woman’s Boyfriend Charged in Stuck-Toilet-Seat Case

The bizarre case of a Kansas woman who sat on a toilet seat so long that it became stuck to her body has resulted in a criminal charge against a man alleged to be responsible. Kory McFarren, 37, who is reportedly the boyfriend of the woman stuck to the toilet,…

Mar 20, 2008 9:28 PM CDT

Kansas Supreme Court Halts Release of Abortion Records

The Kansas Supreme Court is barring release of records of abortion patients until it considers a motion to quash grand-jury subpoeanas for the documents. A grand jury has subpoenaed medical files of about 2,000 women as it investigates whether a late-term abortion provider has broken state laws regulating the procedure,…

Feb 6, 2008 12:37 PM CST

Citizen-Launched Kan. Grand Juries Pursue Abortion & Porn Cases

An almost-forgotten law in Kansas that allows citizens to convene grand juries reportedly has become a tool for local conservatives to use to force prosecutors to pursue abortion and pornography cases. A citizen petition drive, for instance, impaneled a grand jury earlier this month to investigate Dr. George Tiller, who…

Jan 18, 2008 6:29 PM CST

Kansas AG in Sex Scandal Resigns

The attorney general of Kansas, who has been embroiled in a sex scandal that also raises significant legal ethics issues, announced today that he will resign from office effective at the end of January. At that point, he will have been in office barely one year. “Many people feel betrayed…

Dec 14, 2007 10:59 PM CST

Kansas Agog Over AG Sex Scandal

An admitted extramarital affair is the least of it. A longtime employee in the Johnson County, Kan., district attorney’s office says she was sexually harassed by the new state attorney general as part of a two-year affair that involved courthouse trysts and alleged interference with cases being prosecuted by her…

Dec 12, 2007 11:57 PM CST

KC Firm in Merger Talks, Expanding to Chicago

A midsize Kansas City firm in the midst of merger talks isn’t waiting for that deal to expand. Blackwell Sanders already dispatched the former head of its London office to recruit and kick-start a shop in Chicago, the Kansas City Star reports. Partner John Mandelbaum has moved to Chicago and…

Nov 27, 2007 9:50 PM CST

Kansas Utility Owes CEO $2.46M in Defense Costs

Echoing a similar holding by a federal judge concerning another company executive, a special master in Kansas state court has found that a utility company wrongly refused to pay $2.46 million in legal fees to defend its former chairman and CEO in a criminal fraud case. The utility, Westar Energy…

Nov 15, 2007 7:17 PM CST

Sperm Donor Loses Suit for Parental Rights

A sperm donor who wants a relationship with his children has failed to overturn a Kansas law that bars parental rights absent a written agreement. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled the law did not violate state or federal constitutional due process and equal protection provisions, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Daryl…

Oct 29, 2007 2:24 PM CDT

Abortion Doc Tries To Block Grand Jury

In an unusual case emerging out of Kansas, a late-term abortion provider has petitioned the state supreme court to block a grand jury investigation into his clinic practices. Anti-abortion groups took the rare step of petitioning for Sedgwick County to convene a grand jury to probe the Wichita clinic run…

Oct 24, 2007 8:50 PM CDT

Ex-AG, Now a Local DA, Charges Abortion Clinic

A former Kansas attorney general who wrangled with abortion clinics is continuing to take an aggressive stance as a local district attorney. Prosecutor Phill Kline charged a Planned Parenthood clinic yesterday with performing illegal late-term abortions, the New York Times reports. He also accused the clinic of failing to determine…

Oct 18, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

Merit, Not Lockstep, Pay at Jones Day

Despite the attention paid in recent months to Howrey’s announcement that it would no longer implement a so-called lockstep pay schedule for associate attorneys, merit-based salary schedules are by no means unprecedented at major firms. Jones Day has had such a salary system for associates for decades, paying young attorneys…

Oct 15, 2007 8:03 PM CDT

Sprint’s 30-Day Settlement Total Nears $150 M

With a $57.5 million Kansas class action settlement just announced by Sprint-Nextel Corp., the company’s settlement agreements in three cases during the past month now total nearly $150 million. If approved by the judge in the case, the latest settlement would amount to only a small fraction of the $1.3…

Sep 25, 2007 11:41 PM CDT

How the Cops Caught BTK: Playing to a serial killer’s ego helped crack the case

Playing to a serial killer’s ego helped crack the case

May 1, 2006 12:01 AM CDT