March 27, 2007 -- The following testimony was provided by Attorney General Paul Morrison to the House Federal & State Affairs Committee regarding House Bill 6018:
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony on House Resolution 6018. Due to the short notice, I regret that I am unable to attend in person.
As has been reported by the media, the Kansas Attorney General's Office is currently conducting a thorough and professional investigation of Dr. George Tiller. I have assigned an experienced assistant attorney general full time to this investigation. She is carefully examining the evidence and documents associated with this case. I am not permitted to discuss further details of this investigation.
I have spent over 26 years building successful criminal cases and personally trying some of Kansas ' most difficult and complex cases. I will always enforce our state's laws to the fullest extent. Whether charges against Dr. Tiller are ultimately filed will be based on the facts and evidence of the case.
I sincerely appreciate your position regarding the 30 misdemeanor counts filed by the previous attorney general. Any further charges filed related to this investigation will be based on my professional judgment, not legislative action or political calculations.
The people of Kansas elected me to use my independent judgment and legal expertise in representing the State of Kansas in this and other matters. I can assure you that if I find evidence that a crime has been committed, I will file new charges against Dr. Tiller.
As I stated in a letter to Speaker Neufeld and Chairman Siegfried last week, an announcement regarding this case will be made in the near future.