By Justin Kendall
Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline sent an e-mail to his employees this morning explaining that he's trying to arrange meetings with Steve Howe and Rick Guinn -- candidates running for the office.
The Pitch obtained a copy of the e-mail, which follows.
I know that this period of time can be unsettling for many of you. As I have previously mentioned I will invite both Mr. Guinn and Mr. Howe to address all of you at separate times. On that occasion you can ask and hopefully obtain answers to your many questions.Many of made attempts to try to interpret comments made by the candidates at the Bar luncheon and as often occurs, some of these interpretations are based on others efforts to interpret. In other words, such talk is often misleading and counter productive. It is my hope that both gentlemen will agree to speak with all of you directly.
Also, I read in Mr. Rose’s gossip column today that the office jury trial conviction rate is under 50% - this, as many of Mr. Rose’s columns, is patently false. The jury trial conviction rate is now at 72%, higher than in recent years under my predecessor.
I will let you know about Mr. Guinn and Mr. Howe.
Phill
The irony here is that Kline himself fired seven prosecutors and an investigator after being sworn into office in January 2007. (Howe was one of the fired prosecutors.) Many of Kline's new hires were inexperienced and shared his conservative values. So now, as Howe and Guinn face off to replace Kline in the general election, it's likely that many of Kline's employees are worried about facing the same fate as their predecessors.
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Ok, just the facts, here are the facts laid out so even someone as obtuse as yourself can gain some much needed understanding.
Fact: gossip insinuates that what is being reported is false or just a rumor.
Fact: scoop means being the first in the media to print the story.
Fact: �insteading [sic]� doesn�t mean anything.
MOST IMPORTANT FACT: You say, �An outgoing elected official sends a note�to make the transition�as easy as possible�, which is pretty much the same thing as Justin says, only Justin does so with exact quotes from an inside source, as far as I can tell he does so scooping all other media outlets, and provides some very appropriate commentary as to the irony of the matter. Further, Justin does all of this the same day the e-mail was sent to the DA�s staff.
Let me ask you, just the facts, did you also obtain a copy of this e-mail before The Pitch printed it? If not, then this WAS news to you.
Let me ask you, just the facts, where did Justin call Phill Kline�s actions a �CRIME�?
Finally, just the facts, how do you miss the obvious; this IS reporting?
Seriously, folks, The Pitch isn�t perfect and needs to be called out when they do something wrong. But they must also be praised when they get something right. Which, as much as you wouldn�t believe it from most of my commentary, is most of the time.
Yes just the facts. Do some real reporting insteading spreading gossip and you're own blurry viewpoint.
It's not hard to get a scoop on anything related to Kline, as some people make a big deal out of anything he does good or bad. This (article if you call it that) is a perfect example. An outgoing elected official sends a note to his staff letting them know he is going to try to make the transition to a new DA as easy as possible.
What is the CRIME in that?
What is the NEWS in that?
This happens everyday in Corporate American and Political America.
What rates this as news?
It's Phil Kline, who the hack writers at the Star and the Pitch have an issue with.
Yes just the facts. Do some real reporting insteading spreading gossip and you're own blurry viewpoint.
It's not hard to get a scoop on anything related to Kline, as some people make a big deal out of anything he does good or bad. This (article if you call it that) is a perfect example. An outgoing elected official sends a note to his staff letting them know he is going to try to make the transition to a new DA as easy as possible.
What is the CRIME in that?
What is the NEWS in that?
This happens everyday in Corporate American and Political America.
What rate this as news?
It's Phil Kline, who the hack writers at the Star and the Pitch have an issue with.
Excellent reporting in my book, Justin. And maybe Phill will also send a resume to the winner in November as well. Hear he's looking for a job too. ;)
Todd Epp
Kansas Watch http://kswatch.squarespace.com
Morrison once got a "please bargain" in that very office Kline currently works in.
Really, just the facts? You really don�t see that The Pitch received and posted an internal e-mail from the JoCo DA the same freaking day it was sent? You don�t see that as good reporting? You really want detailed commentary about �please bargains�?
This is a breaking story and not a detailed treatise on Phill Kline�s time in office. How about some realistic expectations and some deserved credit to Justin�s ability to scoop the masses?
So please do some real "reporting" and let us know the facts.
Is Kline's conviction rate 72% or <50% as you previously reported? And why?
What does that tell us about your reporting or his effectiveness?
Is the rate of conviction the most telling statistic about a DA's performance?
Could a high number be distorted by only trying cases you can win?
Could the number be impacted by plea bargains?
Are please bargains included in the conviction rate?
Please do some real reporting and get off the gossip rag, we already have the Star for that.
Now, that is a timely, well broken story and excellent political coverage. Well done, Justin. You had to have some pretty good contacts to get this tidbit.
Any chance Guinn or Howe acknowledged the invite?
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