Paul J. Morrison (born June 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Morrison attended

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

and Washburn School of Law, graduating in 1980. While at Washburn, he was a member of the Kansas Beta chapter of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

Career

Morrison was sworn in as the 42nd Kansas Attorney General following a 26-year career in law enforcement. He previously served as the District Attorney for

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...

, from 1990 until January 2007. In 2005, Morrison switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party and announced he would challenge Republican

Phill Kline Phillip D. Kline (born December 31, 1959) is a former American attorney who served as a Kansas state legislator, district attorney of Johnson County, and Kansas Attorney General. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as att ...

in 2006 for Attorney General. On November 7, 2006, Morrison defeated Kline with 58% of the vote. Morrison took office on January 8, 2007. Kline succeeded Morrison as Johnson County District Attorney. On December 14, 2007, in the midst of a scandal involving a former employee while he was Johnson County District Attorney, Morrison announced his resignation effective January 31, 2008. During his term, Attorney General Paul Morrison made

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, victim services, and

cyber crime Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks. It has been variously defined as "a crime committed on a computer network, especially the Internet"; Cybercriminals may explo ...

a priority, re-organizing the office and providing new resources to fight these important crimes. A career prosecutor, Morrison has personally argued nearly 100 jury trials including the complex murder cases of notorious serial killers Richard Grissom and John Edward Robinson. Morrison continued to personally prosecute cases as Kansas Attorney General.

Scandal and resignation

Extramarital affair

In December 2007 allegations surfaced that Morrison had an

extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...

with an office administrator, Linda Carter, in the district attorney's office, that continued after he was elected Attorney General. Carter filed a

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

claim with the

EEOC The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

, alleging that Morrison pressured her to obtain sensitive information about Kline and several pending investigations at the district attorney's office. Morrison admitted to the infidelity, but denies any impropriety, sexual harassment, pressure to obtain sensitive information, or

undue influence Undue influence (UI) is a psychological process by which a person's free will and judgement is supplanted by that of another. It is a legal term and the strict definition varies by jurisdiction. Generally speaking, it is a means by which a person ...

the course of an investigation.

Resignation

Morrison announced his resignation on December 14, stating that his tenure would end on January 31, 2008. On that date, Morrison was succeeded as Attorney General by Douglas County District Court Judge

Stephen Six Stephen Newton Six (born December 11, 1965) is an American attorney and former judge from Kansas who served as the state's 43rd Attorney General. He was nominated to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on ...

Later career

Paul Morrison is currently a criminal defense and family law attorney in

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...

Awards

Morrison is a recipient of the Clarence M. Kelly Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Administration. The Kansas County and District Attorneys Association honored him with "Prosecutor of the Year" award in 2001 and the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Paul J. 1954 births Living people Kansas attorneys general Kansas Democrats Kansas lawyers District attorneys in Kansas Kansas State University alumni Kansas Republicans Washburn University School of Law alumni Washburn University alumni 21st-century Kansas politicians