Bet you thought we were through with Phill Kline once he shipped off to Virginia to become a visiting assistant professor at Liberty University's School of Law. We did, too. But it's come to our attention that the former Johnson County District Attorney is being sued by a former JoCo prosecutor for sex discrimination and harassment as well as electronic eavesdropping.
Kline fired Jacqie Spradling, a 15-year vet of the office and the
leader of the domestic-violence unit, over the phone on April 24, 2007.
Spradling was one of Kline's loudest critics.
In the lawsuit, Spradling alleges Kline and Maxwell "tolerated
incompetence on the part
of male attorneys," leveled unwarranted criticisms against Spradling and
other female attorneys, stripped responsibilities and duties away from
Spradling, and bugged Spradling's office.
The lawsuit was not
unexpected, and the allegations have all been made by Spradling before.
Spradling filed a complaint March 19, 2007, with Johnson County's
human
resources department. The complaint claimed that women attorneys in the
District Attorney's Office were being discriminated against and that
anyone who complained was threatened with retaliation. And Spradling
alleged that her office had been bugged. Johnson County's human
resources department began an investigation into Spradling's
allegations. The county requested additional information from Kline's
office. On April 20, Kline's office replied that it would not cooperate
with the investigation -- and four days later, Kline fired Spradling.
Back in May 2007, Spradling spoke to a packed room of Johnson County
women Democrats. She explained that being an outspoken woman in Kline's
office was unacceptable. "As a whole, women are not viewed as folks that
should be expressing opinions," Spradling said. "Turns out, I've got
some. I was not supposed to express them, and the fact that I expressed
them frequently I think they found annoying."
She also filed a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission,
which investigated and found probable cause to hear them. (In April, the
commission dismissed the case; apparently the commission doesn't have
the resources to even do a hearing, so it told Spradling to go ahead
and file a civil suit, according to the Star.)
Kline isn't the only one Spradling is
suing. She also names in the lawsuit Stephen Maxwell, Kline's
lead attorney; Eric Rucker, his No. 2; Linda Carter, the
office manager and mistress
of ex-Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison; the Johnson
County Board of Commissioners; and the state of Kansas.
Spradling,
who now works in the Shawnee County District Attorney's office, claims
she lost about $130,000 in past and future lost income and other
damages.
The attorneys in the case reportedly aren't talking. Brian Burgess, Kline's former spokesman in the DA's office, called the lawsuit "frivolous."
"The bottom line, in my personal opinion, is that Jacquie Spradling allowed her sense of loyalty to Paul Morrison and her dislike for Phill Kline affect her professional judgment, which in turn adversely impacted her career," Burgess said. "... This lawsuit is just a last, crude attempt at retaliation in what has always been a politically motivated case."
If Spradling's dogged pursuit is anything like the way she fights, she clearly won't stop punching.
Here's the amended lawsuit.
And here's the response from Kline and company in which they deny just about everything.
A case management conference is scheduled for Wednesday.
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Not that I like Phil Kline that much, but this lady just needs to shut up. In reality, Mr. Kline could have been more effective if he had just used common sense in dealing with the media. He could have "spun" things differently, and got more done. However, no matter how many ethics violations, and sexual harrassment claims are filed, Mr. Kline probably isn't any different from all the other asshole lawyers out there. He might even be "cleaner" than most because of the scrutiny that he has been under. Get off it, Ms. Spradling. You're starting to look like a woman scorned.
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