A seven-member panel of the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications has dismissed an ethics complaint filed by abortion opponents against Sedgwick County, Kansas, District Judge Paul Clark for not disclosing campaign contributions he received from a law firm representing physician George Tiller before ruling in a case involving the doctor, the AP/Wichita Eagle reports (Hanna, AP/Wichita Eagle, 4/23). Former state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) last year filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller -- who owns the Wichita, Kan.-based abortion clinic Women's Health Care Services -- for allegedly performing 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003 on patients ages 10 to 22 without properly reporting the details to the state. Kline hired attorney Don McKinney to be special prosecutor in the case. Clark in January dismissed the charges on a jurisdictional issue at the request of Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston (D), and McKinney filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court. The Kansas Supreme Court in February upheld Clark's ruling. State Sen. Tim Huelskamp (R) and members of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue West last month filed the ethics complaint, alleging Clark did not disclose campaign contributions from the law firm representing Tiller and he inappropriately discussed the case with Foulston (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/28). Clark told the panel that he never looked at his campaign finance report and did not know who contributed to his campaign. According to the AP/Eagle, the panel concluded that the complaint "contained no facts evidencing judicial misconduct" by Clark. Huelskamp questioned whether the panel had thoroughly investigated the case. "Without any knowledge of the campaign contributions, Judge Clark had no information to disclose," the panel said in a letter sent to Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue West, adding, "The matter is now closed." Newman sent a reply to panel Chair Nancy Anstaett, asking how the investigation was conducted. Dan Monnat, an attorney for Tiller, said the decision is "further proof of Judge Clark's integrity." Clark was unavailable for comment, the AP/Eagle reports.

Morrison To Announce Whether He Will Reinstate Charges Against Tiller
In related news, a spokesperson for state Attorney General Paul Morrison (D), who defeated Kline in the November 2006 election, said Morrison is "finishing up" an investigation to determine whether to reinstate the charges against Tiller, the AP/Eagle reports. The spokesperson added that an announcement will be made soon (AP/Wichita Eagle, 4/23). Three Republican state House members last month sent a letter to Morrison calling for him to reinstate the charges, and the Kansas House Federal and State Affairs Committee last month voted 12-8 to approve a resolution that would force Morrison to reinstate the charges. Morrison declined an invitation to testify before the House committee but sent members a letter that said, "I can assure you that if I find evidence that a crime has been committed, I will file new charges against Dr. Tiller." He added, "Any further charges will be based on my professional judgment, not legislative action or political calculations" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/28). Operation Rescue West and Kansans for Life, the largest antiabortion group in the state, are backing the resolution. According to the AP/Eagle, Operation Rescue West last week began broadcasting radio advertisements that call on House Speaker Melvin Neufeld (R) to schedule a debate on the resolution. Neufeld said the House is "still trying to work out the best method of attack on" the resolution (AP/Wichita Eagle, 4/23).

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