An attorney representing Phill Kline against ethics charges is alleging that the court record may have been tainted by a research attorney who was later fired for posting disparaging Twitter comments about the former Kansas attorney general.

In a letter to Stan Hazlett, disciplinary administrator for the state's judicial branch, Kline's attorney Tom Condit asks for a review of all research attorneys working for judges and justices to determine whether there was bias.

"It's the only way to resolve these concerns, when there is so much at stake for Mr. Kline, is to conduct a thorough vetting of the process," Condit wrote in the letter sent Tuesday.

Sarah Peterson-Herr was fired Nov. 19, four days after she posted comments about Kline as he appeared before the Kansas Supreme Court over alleged misconduct during his investigation of abortion providers.