By Steve Bell
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-709934.mp3
Kansas City, MO – Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline says he wants the state Supreme Court to hear his side of things as the Attorney General tries to block the presentation of what Kline says is his key evidence against Planned Parenthood.
After a Johnson County judge postponed the next hearing in the Planned Parenthood case till late July, Kline didn't object to the postponement, in that his star witness, Judge Richard Anderson is under Supreme Court order not to respond to Kline's subpoena till a suit over abortion records is resolved. But Kline seemed indignant that the high court didn't explain itself by providing any statute or case law on which the order is based.
Kline said Attorney General Steven Six, who sued to block his subpoena, needs to explain why he doesn't want Anderson to testify. Anderson said last year he thought the records contained evidence of wrongdoing.
But Six's spokesperson, Ashley Anstaett, says the Attorney General didn't try to block the judge from testifying. Anstaett says the motion filed by Six seeks to prevent the medical records from being made public. The decision to postpone Judge Anderson's testimony, was "a decision the Supreme Court made on their own."
Anstaett says even Judge Anderson has testified that it would be possible to identify patients from the records, even though names have been deleted. Kline is asking the Supreme Court to allow him to intervene in the records battle.