Wichita lawyer Dan Monnat, who will be a defense attorney in the upcoming Stanton County case, agreed that courts should be extremely cautious when dealing with bodyless cases. “Such cases are classical circumstantial-evidence cases — and with all circumstantial cases, there is a great risk that an innocent person will be convicted,” he said.
A Wichita man arrested last May in connection with two rapes, then released when a DNA test proved his innocence, is suing the Police Department for an apology. “This is not a case where we’re seeking a large amount of money,” said Dan Monnat, one of Fontes’ lawyers. “He just wants an apology.”
One of Tiller’s lawyers, Dan Monnat, said of the legislators’ letter: “Dr. Tiller is innocent of any wrongdoing. We always said that Dr. Tiller would cooperate with professional prosecutors who don’t have some skewed political agenda, and he has done and will do that. On the other hand, it’s important that the different branches of government maintain their independence and that the Legislature not try to coerce a political prosecution.”
Tiller’s lawyers Dan Monnat and Lee Thompson said Wednesday that Foulston’s investigation helps show what they’ve said all along: The doctor has not broken any laws.
“Ms. Foulston’s thorough investigation,” Monnat said, “has now made it clear that, in fact, child rapists are behind bars because of Dr. Tiller’s strict compliance with the letter of the reporting laws and his cooperation with law enforcement authorities in several states.”
Foulston spokeswoman Georgia Cole said the district attorney had not seen McKinney’s filing. Nor had Dan Monnat, a Wichita attorney representing Tiller.
“We’re not surprised that the publicity stunts of the AG and his so-called independent, so-called special prosecutor continue up to the very last minute of the attorney general’s tenure,” Monnat said. “From a legal standpoint, these recent stunts are nothing more than legal floundering on their point.”
Sedgwick County District Judge Paul Clark found Thursday that Foulston had legal authority to dismiss the charges Kline filed.
Tiller’s attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller is “an innocent man unfairly maligned by Kline.”
But Tiller’s attorneys argue that Kline isn’t capable of fairly evaluating evidence involving Tiller, given his anti-abortion politics. One of them, Dan Monnat, of Wichita, called McKinney “a former Kline campaigner and anti-abortion activist.”
But Dan Monnat, a Wichita attorney representing Tiller, said Thursday that the special prosecutor’s background shows Kline isn’t conducting a fair inquiry.
“I would say no effort was made to find an independent prosecutor,” Monnat said.
Dan Monnat, one of Tiller’s lawyers, said he wasn’t troubled by any further review of files involving Tiller. “We have every confidence that Dr. Tiller is innocent,” Monnat said.
One of Tiller’s other lawyers, Lee Thompson, said that the statute of limitations had expired on some of the cases. Monnat said Tiller’s lawyers are analyzing the charges to see how the statute of limitations applies.
But Wichita lawyer Dan Monnat, one of Tiller’s lawyers, said of McKinney, “We’ve known him to protest outside Tiller’s clinic.”
