KCK U.S. Attorney’s Office asked to pay over $230,000 after call-recording scandal
Federal public defenders in Kansas say the United States Attorney’s Office cost them more than $223,000 in fees and expenses by delaying and not cooperating with an investigation of the U.S. Attorney Office’s misconduct.
The public defenders are asking Judge Julie Robinson to order the United States Attorney’s Office to pay that amount after it was held in contempt of court last month.
“From the outset, the Government disregarded the Court’s Orders to preserve evidence and to cooperate, and, consequently, this litigation has dragged on for more than three years,” the motion said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office was chastised in a scathing ruling for failing to preserve evidence and cooperate with witness and document production during the investigation, sparked by a 2016 revelation that assistant U.S. attorneys in the office had accessed and listened to jail calls between inmates and their attorneys.
According to the ruling, the U.S. Attorney’s Office “intentionally misled” Special Master David R. Cohen during his investigation and allowed key evidence to be deleted.
“The government’s misrepresentations, delays and lack of transparency about the state of its preservation efforts in this matter make it impossible to conclude with certainty what information has been lost and cannot be restored,” the ruling said.
The evidence lost impacts more than 100 incarcerated people who have filed to have evidence returned and sentences reduced as a result of the governments conduct.
Over the course of the full investigation and litigation, the motion said, the federal public defenders spent more than $1.6 million. The motion said it “is well within the Court’s inherent authority” to insist the government pay that entire sum.
Instead, the motion said, the FPD has calculated the costs that were incurred as a direct result of the government’s misconduct during the case and is only asking to be reimbursed for that fraction.
The cost accounts for about 834 hours worked by attorneys, investigators and paralegals as well as $3,375 in expenses.
The U.S. attorney’s office will file its own estimation of costs owed before Robinson makes an order.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy we did this story
The Star has been covering the investigation into the phone call recordings at the Leavenworth Detention Center since 2016. Since then, the newspaper has published numerous stories on important hearings and reports. From the beginning, the judge in the case signaled that the constitutional rights of many people could be at stake.
How we did this story
For months, Star reporters have been digging into documents in the case, including the testimony of former prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and interviewing people close to the investigation. When the judge’s decision was released Tuesday, The Star based its report on the decision, related documents, and on-the-record comments of people involved in the investigation.
