Phill Kline

Phillip D. Kline (born December 31, 1959) is a former attorney who served as a Kansas state legislator, district attorney of Johnson County, and Kansas Attorney General. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as attorney general to Democratic challenger Paul J. Morrison in 2006. Kline was appointed by the Republican County Central Committee to fill the vacancy left Morrison's election as Kansas Attorney General, becoming district attorney of Johnson County on the day he left office as attorney general and essentially switching jobs with Morrison. Kline then ran for a full term as district attorney, but was defeated in the 2008 Republican primary. Kline was a polarizing figure in state politics, largely surrounding his use of his office to investigate abortion providers. He filed charges against George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider, and led a years-long effort to prosecute Planned Parenthood in Kansas. Kline received a series of official rebukes and reprimands for his legal tactics against abortion providers, and in 2013 his law license was indefinitely suspended by the Kansas Supreme Court, which found "clear and convincing evidence" that Kline committed numerous violations of conduct rules, including by providing false testimony. Kline appealed his license suspension to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene, leaving the suspension in place. Kline is currently an assistant professor at Liberty University, an evangelical fundamentalist college in Lynchburg, Virginia.