The Disciplinary Administrator overseeing lawyers in Kansas has filed a formal ethics complaint against Stephen Maxwell, former assistant to former Kansas Attorney General and later Johnson County DA Phill Kline.
The complaint alleges Maxwell violated the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct and committed "breaches of trust of his public office" during investigations into Women's Health Care Services, P.A., operated by the late George Tiller, and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood in Johnson County.
The complaint claims Maxwell knowingly submitted misleading information to a court examining underaged abortions in the state, and mishandled files related to Kline's long battle against the two providers of abortion services.
A second complaint involves Maxwell's role in a grand jury investigation in Johnson County, Ks., in late 2007 and early 2008, regarding abortion. Maxwell, the complaint alleges, improperly provided incomplete information to the grand jury.
Maxwell was not immediately available for comment.
The complaint will be considered by the state's Board for the Discipline of Attorneys in February.
