Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline is a highly accomplished leader both during his public career and in his private life.
For eight years Mr. Kline served in the Kansas legislature where he authored and successfully passed significant tax reform, tax reduction, Kansas welfare reform and six new victims’ rights laws.
During his legislative service Mr. Kline served as Chairman of the Taxation Committee and also as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He also repeatedly received awards as a “Taxpayer Hero” and awards for prolife leadership.
As Kansas Attorney General, Mr. Kline authored Kansas’ Jessica’s law, increasing penalties on child predators, helped establish a Cyber Crimes Task Force that put over 100 Internet predators of children in prison, successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court, won key water case victories for Kansas and dramatically increased the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse and Medicaid fraud.
Mr. Kline’s leadership was recognized by his selection as Chairman of the Republican Attorneys’ General Association, Co-Chairman of the National Violent Sexual Predator Apprehension Task Force, President of the Midwest Association of Attorneys General, Prosecutor of the Year for the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill and Executive Committee Member of the National Association of Attorneys General.
Mr. Kline has been a successful lawyer in private practice representing states and state agencies in large, complex civil litigation and large international interests in construction mediation, arbitration and litigation while appearing in courtrooms in California, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Kline also helped start and establish one of the Midwest’s premiere philanthropic jazz events the Corporate Woods Jazz Festival. He is a Past President of a Kansas City based Rotary Club and Paul Harris Fellow.
But these accomplishments have not been the public focus on Mr. Kline’s career. Since Mr. Kline became the first prosecutor in our nation’s history to obtain by valid subpoena, almost all media attention regarding Mr. Kline has focused on abortion. Much of this media focus has been distorted and false.
Mr. Kline’s efforts led the national abortion industry to pour millions of dollars into Kansas to attack and vilify Mr. Kline. Through it all, Mr. Kline has continued to fight to enforce Kansas law and hold all accountable under the law. His leadership has, as written by columnist Bob Novak, opened a new front on the abortion wars and placed Kansas in the epicenter of the current battle over the sanctity of human life.
Phill Kline remains the only prosecutor in our nation’s history to successfully obtain abortion clinic records from Planned Parenthood and to seek to enforce our nation’s laws that protect children and restrict abortion.
Mr. Kline was considered such a threat to the abortion industry that Planned Parenthood named Mr. Kline one of 15 “domestic terrorists” in 2006 along with James Dobson, Father Frank Pavone and United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice Roberts. Phill Kline, however, was the only elected official in the nation so named.
Mr. Kline’s courage under fire and his leadership have awakened the life community to the need to work to enforce our nation’s laws. You can read more about how this is being done by reading about the Amistad Journey by clicking the “home” button above
Mr. Kline currently serves as Director of the Amistad Journey for the Life Issues Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio and is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Law at Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia. Mr. Kline is a frequent and in demand public speaker.
Mr. Kline is married to the former Deborah Shattuck of Mason, Michigan. Deborah has a Masters in Counseling and is a graduate of the Nazarene Theological Seminary of Kansas City with her Masters degree in Divinity. Deborah has served as a child counselor specializing in art and play therapy and as Hospice Chaplain.
The Kline’s have one daughter, Hillary, who studies at Liberty University. The family resides in Amherst, Virginia.
Mr. Kline grew up in Kansas City, Kansas and Shawnee, Kansas as the middle of five children. All of his siblings still reside in the Kansas City area.