Opinion ID: 613272
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Helm's Arrest and Termination

Text: On September 18, 2007, Helm was arrested following an altercation with her husband. She was charged with aggravated battery, a felony, and domestic battery and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. Helm ultimately entered into a diversion agreement that included her stipulation to facts that satisfied the elements of the three charged offenses. On December 3, 2007, Chief Judge King sent Helm a letter informing her that the conduct to which she admitted violated three provisions of the Rules. He further explained that her decision to enter into a diversion on a felony charge disqualified her from accessing defendants' criminal histories under the rules established for the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System. This precluded her from carrying out her duties as an administrative assistant. Chief Judge King also wrote that Judge Stewart had removed himself from any employment decisions concerning Helm and that Judge Bednar had delegated the authority to make such decisions to Chief Judge King. Accordingly, Chief Judge King proposed termination of Helm's employment and gave Helm the opportunity to respond. Helm responded in a letter dated December 7, 2007. She provided a number of reasons why she should be allowed to continue working for the First Judicial District, including the fact that Ron Chance, the court administrator who preceded Crossland, had entered into a diversion on a DUI charge and had not been fired. Helm suggested that her criminal prosecution and the proposed termination represented retaliation for her complaining about Judge Stewart's sexual harassment. One week later, Chief Judge King wrote Helm back and informed her that she was terminated effective immediately. He rejected Helm's attempt to compare her situation to Chance's, explaining that Helm was the only employee that he knew of who had admitted to facts constituting a felony offense against another person. He also addressed Helm's retaliation argument: Your contention that your termination is in retaliation for your assertion of a claim of sexual harassment is completely without merit. The district court administration, and not you, submitted your complaint to the [KCJQ] through the [OJA]. It was you who were reluctant to pursue a complaint against Judge Stewart, notwithstanding our assurances to you that there would be no adverse employment consequences for you doing so, and our assurances that you would be supported through the process by the district court administration.... . . . Simply put, the decision to propose termination of your employment was based exclusively on your admitted criminal misconduct and nothing else. Absent such misconduct, termination of your employment would not have been proposed. (Aplt.App., vol. III at 397.) [5]