Johnson County, Kansas, prosecutors have more time to try to replace shredded evidence in the country’s first criminal case against Planned Parenthood, a judge ruled this morning.

Planned Parenthood’s hearing on whether evidence supported 23 felony counts of falsifying pregnancy termination reports was scheduled to start today. But prosecutors revealed last week that records central to their case were shredded sometime in 2005, roughly two years before former Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline filed the charges.

Judge Stephen Tatum told prosecutors that they have until Nov. 9 to see whether they can find evidence to authenticate the records that Kline obtained.

“Make that effort for a couple of weeks and come back in and we’ll see where we’re at,” Tatum said.

Steve Howe, Johnson County district attorney, said that if they could not find other ways to make the case, he would report that.

The records were critical in establishing the authenticity of those from 2003 that Kline obtained when he investigated Planned Parenthood as attorney general.

Read the complete story at kansascity.com