Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org
WICHITA, Kansas, August 13 /Christian Newswire/ -- Attorneys for abortionist George R. Tiller have filed a motion with the District Court to replace Judge Anthony Powell, who was assigned to the case last Friday.
Powell served in the Legislature and helped write the law under which Tiller is charged. Attorney General Paul Morrison filed 19 counts against Tiller for having committed late-term abortions without the signature of a physician who is financially unaffiliated with him. Tiller is asking the court to dismiss the charges because of his belief that the law is unconstitutional.
Powell heard oral arguments in Tiller's motion to dismiss on Friday after revealing his involvement with the legislature and associations with 20 legislators that filed a friend of the court brief in support of the prosecution. At that time, Lee Thompson, who argued on Tiller's behalf, told Judge Powell that he trusted that the information he disclosed would not affect the court's decision. However, Monday's motion for a replacement for Powell indicates a change of heart.
"It's funny how a pro-life judge is considered biased, yet judges who received money from Tiller and his lawyers are considered 'fair,'" said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "It is a double standard that is inherently unfair and unjust."
"We believe that Judge Powell would have ruled fairly in the Tiller matter," said Newman. "What better person to rule on the intent of a law than one who helped pass it? I think Tiller's lawyers are afraid of a fair and honest judge, and the fact that they are engaged in judge shopping proves it."
"The public has had its fill of cronyism, favoritism, and special privileges as far as George Tiller goes," Newman said. "It's time for him to have his day in court in front of a fair and open judge, so that the public's confidence in the system can be restored. We believe that Judge Powell would have been that man."
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
