Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht has urged a district judge to refuse to sanction him for an allegation that he gave a copy of a confidential psychological evaluation to his daughter.

Monday was the deadline for final arguments on a motion by Stephan William Grimmett, 28, for sanctions against Hecht. Shawnee County District Court Judge Richard Anderson is expected to rule on the motion in a short time.

Grimmett pleaded no contest on March 14, 2003, to sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy and was placed on probation for nine years and nine months during sentencing in February.

His defense attorney, in written final arguments on the sanctions motion, said evidence supports that Hecht gave a copy of the report compiled by the Larned State Security Hospital to his daughter, Lisa Hecht, director of the YWCA Battered Women Task Force.

Grimmett’s attorney urged Anderson to sanction Hecht, perhaps by paying $13,500 in legal work required to write the defendant’s sanctions motion.

Grimmett also faces pending federal child pornography offenses in U.S. District Court.

Defense attorney Christopher M. Joseph wrote in final arguments that “the suggestion (by the district attorney) that Kansas law prohibits Mr. Hecht from physically handing over a copy of the Larned report to a member of the public but does not prohibit him from disclosing the contents of the report in a written press release or during a press conference is absurd.”

Anderson should reject the district attorney’s interpretation of law, find he violated the law to rally support against Grimmett’s sentence, find his actions were in bad faith and sanction him for misconduct, Joseph said.

Hecht contends his interpretation that Kansas law doesn’t prohibit disclosure of the Larned Report contents was corroborated “as correct” by another Grimmett defense attorney.

Grimmett attorneys haven’t proved Lisa Hecht had information that she hadn’t received from a law enforcement officer, rough drafts of a news statement issued by the district attorney or from conversations with Robert Hecht, her staff or others in the courtroom when Grimmett was sentenced, Hecht wrote in his final arguments.

© Copyright 2004 CJ Online / The Topeka Capital-Journal / Morris Communications

By Steve Fry
THE TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL