In late February several members of the Kansas press reported that a letter from Office of the Disciplinary Administrator was sent to Caleb Stegall, an attorney representing former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, and two former deputies, Stephen Maxwell and Eric Rucker.
How did the press learn about the existence of this confidential letter? How did a letter from the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, which works under the direction of the Kansas Supreme Court, become public when that letter is not yet a public record? Various news sources credit the Associated Press, but no one by name, for obtaining the letter from Stanton Hazlett, Disciplinary Administrator, to attorney Caleb Stegall in Perry. Here’s part of that AP story from Thursday, Feb 26:
…The letter, dated Feb. 19 and obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, is from the state official in charge of investigating allegations of professional misconduct against attorneys.
The letter does not say what allegations prompted the finding, and officials say details won’t be made public until a formal complaint is filed. …
A Wichita Eagle article (reported by the Kansas City Star or still visible via the Google cache) by court reporter Ron Sylvester suggests the Eagle may have first obtained this letter:
The Eagle obtained a copy of the notification a day after Kline’s attorney said a Sedgwick County district judge had “vindicated” Kline’s investigation of Tiller, who is set for trial March 16 on 19 misdemeanor charges.
The Kansas City Business Journal confirmed the story with “Kansas Supreme Court officials”:
Kansas Supreme Court officials confirmed that the state’s Office of Disciplinary Administration found probable cause to think the three lawyers violated rules covering licensed attorneys.
Violations of the professional conduct code range from written reprimands to disbarment.
After seeing several other online stories about this online, I wondered what was in the letter and how it was released to the press.
On March 4 I submitted a letter to Mr. Hazlett with a Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) request for two pieces of information:
- The Feb 19 letter from his Office to Caleb Stegall.
- Any letter, E-mail or other communications between the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator and others, including various government officials and the press, that led to the release of this letter, or mentioned or inquired about this letter.
Yesterday I received a letter with a reply from Disciplinary Administrator, Stanton Hazlett:
Please be advised that this office is not subject to the Kansas Open Records Act. I decline to provide you the information that you have request.
Attorney Caleb Stegall in a reply to E-mail questions said he did not release this information to the press. When asked how the press would know when to ask for such a letter in a confidential matter, Stegall replied “I don’t know.”
The sender of the letter says the letter is not public information under KORA and implies he did not release it. The recipient of the letter said he did not release the information to the press.
There are now many questions:
- How did the press get a copy of this letter?
- Did someone in the Kansas Judiciary release this confidential document in the investigation of possible misconduct by three Kansas attorneys?
- Do we need to interrupt one ethics investigation to have another ethics investigation into the breach of confidentiality by someone in the Kansas Judiciary?
- Is this not more evidence of the intermixing of law and politics in Kansas, and especially by the Kansas Supreme Court?
This page gives an overview of how a complaint is handled by the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, the Kansas Board of Discipline of Attorneys, and the Kansas Supreme Court.
Related:
- A Guide to Judicial Branch Open Records Requests
- Are the ‘ethics charges’ against Kline a justice’s revenge?, Kansas Liberty, March 5, 2009. [subscription]
- Phill Kline faces ethics complaint, The Pitch, Feb 27, 2009. The Pitch’s Justin Kendall provides links to the letter in question: page1 and page2.
- Kline faces ethics complaint, Kansas City Star’s prime buzz, Feb 26, 2009.
- Former Kansas Attorney general Phill Kline and two deputies face accusations of violating attorney ethical code, Ron Sylvester’s Tweet on Twitter at 3:28 PM on Feb 26, 2009.
- AG Morrison wants independent investigation by the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys but near near majority on this Board are contributors to either Morrison or Sebelius!, Kansas Meadowlark, Dec 11, 2007.
Tags: Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), Office of Disciplinary Administrator, Phill Kline, Supreme Court
