Two Planned Parenthood attorneys could be called as witnesses in an investigation of its Overland Park, Kan., abortion clinic. But they have refused to step down as counsel for the defense.
Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline wants a judge to bar Pedro Irigonegaray and Robert Eye from representing the clinic because he plans to call them to the witness stand, The Kansas City Star reported.
In a 107-count indictment against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, Kline alleges that the clinic performed illegal late-term abortions in 2003 and falsified, forged and failed to maintain abortion records.
"Attorneys may have nonprivileged knowledge of events or other evidence important to a case, or they may themselves be complicit in the alleged illegal activities," said Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "In such cases, it is perfectly legitimate to call them as witnesses. The trial judge will have to balance the needs of the prosecutor against the right of a defendant to choose its own lawyer.
"If the lawyers have relevant, substantive, nonprivileged knowledge of important events or other evidence, then the judge will not let them act as attorneys for the defendant."
The parties are set to make their first appearance in court Friday. No date has been set to hear Kline’s motion.
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