I am very happy to hear that this will proceed. Tiller has manipulated things to his advantage for far too long..praying he finally is put out of business
Federal Judge Rules That Attorneys For Abortion Provider Tiller Cannot Prevent Grand Jury From Being Formed To Investigate Tiller
17 Sep 2007
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Tuesday ruled against a motion to prevent a grand jury from convening in Sedgwick County, Kan., to investigate abortion provider George Tiller, the Wichita Eagle reports (Lefler, Wichita Eagle, 9/12). The antiabortion group Kansans for Life last week delivered a petition that contained 7,857 signatures asking the Sedgwick County District Court to convene a grand jury and appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate Tiller. Petitioners want the grand jury to examine late-term abortions that Tiller performed during the past five years and the reasons cited for the abortions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/7).
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale on Tuesday certified the petition and sent it to Sedgwick County Administrative Judge Michael Corrigan. Gale said the petitioners submitted 6,683 valid signatures, more than the 2,449 needed to convene a grand jury.
Tiller Motion, Reaction
Tiller's attorneys filed a motion requesting that the grand jury not be
convened, claiming that Tiller has been investigated several times in
the past year and that another grand jury investigation would be
"unfair, harassing and bad faith." According to the Eagle, if the grand jury is seated, it will conduct at least the fifth investigation of Tiller since 2006, including a pending case
in which state Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) has charged Tiller
with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly violating a state law that requires
an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term
abortions.
Tiller's attorneys in the motion said the petition to
convene a grand jury is "part of a repeated, persistent and harassing
effort to induce criminal prosecution" of Tiller "by those who oppose
lawful abortion." Marten said that Tiller's lawyers made a strong case,
but added, "Frankly, I'm reluctant to jump into the middle of something
that is essentially a state matter." Marten suggested that Tiller's
attorneys re-file the motion in state court, and Tiller's attorneys
said they plan to do so (Wichita Eagle, 9/12).
Kansans
for Life leaders said they were unaware that Tiller's attorneys had
sought to prevent state courts from convening a grand jury. David
Gittrich, development director of Kansans for Life, said that if the
motion had been granted, it would have been an insult to those who
signed the petition and to state lawmakers seeking to change abortion policy. He added that the group hopes the grand jury will file charges against Tiller similar to those filed by former Attorney General Phill Kline (R) (Wichita Eagle, 9/12).
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