Caleb Stegall, the attorney for Eric Rucker, filed a motion on Thursday to disqualify a member of the Hearing Panel about an attorney ethics complaint filed against Rucker, who served as an Assistant Attorney General under Phill Kline. Rucker sought to disqualify Patricia Dengler on his review panel because of her business relationship with the late Dr. George Tiller.

On Friday the Disciplinary Administrator, Stanton Hazlett, replied to Stegall‘s motion and asked the Hearing Panel to deny the motion.

Today, Stegall objected to language used by Hazlett:

Rucker “objects to the Disciplinary Administrator’s use of inflammatory language such as ‘disingenuous’ and ‘misleading.’ … the Disciplinary Administrator conspicuously fails to identify any particular ‘misleading’ statement with specificity. Instead, the Disciplinary Administrator has elected to label and denigrate [Rucker] through innuendo and mud-slinging …”

---

Read the motion filed by Caleb Stegall on Thursday for Eric Rucker:

Eric Rucker’s Motion to Disqualify Patricia Dengler from Ethics Hearing Panel

---

Read the reply by Stanton Hazlett from Friday:

Hazlett’s reply to Rucker’s Motion to Disqualify Dengler

Read today’s reply by Stegall to Hazlett:

Rucker’s Reply to Hazlett’s Response About Motion to Disqualify

---

All of these and other related documents can be found in our document library.  Look for Judiciary and then Disciplinary Administrator.

The Kansas Watchdog requested a phone interview with Patricia Dengler on Friday, but she did not immediately return that call. 

The Kansas Watchdog sent the following questions via E-mail to Dengler for her comments:

1) Will you be making a public statement about Rucker’s motion for disqualification in his ethics case?

2) What is your ownership interest in the Physicians & Surgeons Exchange?

3) Can you comment on any business relationship between Physicians & Surgeons Exchange and Dr. George Tiller’s clinic? (Perhaps number of years and approximate dollar volume by year?)

4) Will you confirm that you made political contributions to Chris Biggs, Kathleen Sebelius, and Paul Morrison?

At this time there has been no response.

Rucker’s motion to disqualify stated:

6.  Hearing Panel members are held to the ethical standards of Judicial Canons and “shall refrain from taking part in any proceedings in which a judge similarly situated would be required to abstain.”  …

7.  … a judge “shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. …”

Patricia Dengler’s political contributions in Kansas include money given to two direct political opponents of former Attorney General Phill Kline:  AG candidate Chris Biggs, and former AG Paul Morrison.

Contributor	Date	Dollars	Contest	Recipient
DENGLER PATRICIA M	11/20/1994	$100.00	Misc	SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN
DENGLER, PATRICIA	10/23/2002	$250.00	AG	BIGGS, CHRIS
DENGLER, PATRICIA	11/22/2005	$250.00	AG	MORRISON, PAUL
DENGLER, PATRICIA	7/28/2006	$150.00	AG	MORRISON, PAUL
DENGLER, PATRICIA	9/14/2006	$150.00	AG	MORRISON, PAUL
DENGLER, PATRICIA	7/21/2006	$100.00	Insurance	PRAEGER, SANDY
DENGLER, PATRICIA	11/19/2001	$250.00	Gov	SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN
DENGLER, PATRICIA	3/29/2002	$200.00	Gov	SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN
DENGLER, PATRICIA	4/21/2006	$1,000.00	Gov	SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN

Open Secrets shows these Federal Election Commission political contributions by Dengler:

Contributor	Occupation	Date	Amount	Recipient
DENGLER, PATRICIA EASTBOROUGH,KS 67206	SELF/ATTORNEY	9/29/09	$250	Goyle, Raj (D)
DENGLER, PATRICIA M WICHITA,KS 67202	BROWN DENGLER GOOD & RIDER/ATTORNEY	10/25/02	$285	Nolla, Carlos J (D)
DENGLER, PATRICIA M WICHITA,KS 67208	BROWN, DENGLER & O’BRIEN/ATTORNEY	9/24/08	$250	Betts, Donald (D)
DENGLER, PATRICIA M WICHITA,KS 67208	SELF-EMPLOYED/ATTORNEY	8/4/08	$250	Obama, Barack (D)
DENGLER, PATRICIA M WICHITA,KS 67202	BROWN DENGLER GOOD & RIDER/ATTORNEY	6/4/02	$250	Nolla, Carlos J (D)

---

Related

• How Misconduct Complaints are Reviewed in Kansas, Kansas Judicial Branch
• Ex-Deputy Attorney General Eric Rucker says a member of the panel investigating him should be removed, Wichita Eagle, March 6, 2010.
• Rucker’s assertion disputed, Topeka Capital-Journal, March 5, 2010.
• Rucker files motion to reconsider probable cause finding in attorney ethics case, Kansas Watchdog, Jan. 25, 2010.
• Attorney disciplinary complaint filed against former AG Phill Kline, Kansas Watchdog, Jan. 19, 2010.
• Formal ethics complaint against Stephen Maxwell, former Kline assistant, Kansas Watchdog, Sept. 21, 2009.
• Who is playing politics in the Kansas Judiciary by leaking information to the press?, Kansas Meadowlark, March 12, 2009.
• Mystery surrounds release of letter from Kansas Attorney Disciplinary Administrator, Kansas Meadowlark, March 8, 2009.

---

Contact: Earl F Glynn, earl@kansaswatchdog.org, KansasWatchdog.org