Chad Taylor (born November 4, 1973) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Shawnee County, Kansas Shawnee County (county code SN) is located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state ...

from 2009-17. He was nominated to run for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in the 2014 election for the Democratic Party, but withdrew from the race on September 3, 2014. Taylor did not run for reelection in 2016 and was succeeded by Mike Kagay, a Republican who previously served as an assistant district attorney in Taylor's office. His term ended on January 9, 2017. 2021 Taylor had an ethics complaint filed against him for his handling of Dana Chandler trial. His assistant Jaquie Spradling was disbarred in May 2022 for lying during Chandler trial and to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Taylor grew up on a family farm in

Silver Lake, Kansas Silver Lake is a city in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,345. History 19th century Silver Lake was founded in 1868. It was named from the lake upon which it was situated. In the ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and a JD from

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

Career

Prior to being elected District Attorney, Taylor worked in the Public Power Industry and in private practice. He has also served as a Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem, an administrative hearing officer, a member of the Shawnee County Civil Service Board, and a member of the Shawnee County Planning Commission. Taylor was elected the

Shawnee County Shawnee County (county code SN) is located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state ...

in 2008. He was re-elected in 2012, after facing no opposition. In 2009, Taylor launched a Cold Case Homicide Unit to pursue unsolved homicides in Shawnee County. In 2013 the County granted funding to the unit, which has since prosecuted an average three cases a year. These cases date as far back as 30 years. By January 2010, Taylor's office reported having reduced an over-4000 file backlog, left by predecessor Robert Hecht, to 22 cases. By September of that year, Taylor reported the office being "current." In 2011, Taylor's office gained national notoriety after Taylor said that budget cuts would stop his office from prosecuting

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

cases. Taylor wanted the city of

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

to prosecute the cases, but Topeka repealed its ordinance outlawing domestic abuse, forcing Taylor to prosecute the cases. Taylor ultimately had to lay off 17 percent of his work force. In 2012, Taylor criticized members of the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...

for meeting privately with Governor

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

, despite the state's open meeting rules. In February 2014, Taylor announced his

candidacy Candidacy is a rite which takes place during Roman Catholic seminary formation, by which the Church recognizes the seminarian as worthy of being ordained (hence, they become a "candidate" for ordination to the priesthood). With the liturgical ref ...

for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Republican

Pat Roberts Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Re ...

held the seat at the time. On September 3, 2014, Taylor dropped out of the race. Taylor gave no reason for his withdrawal. The next day, Kansas Secretary of State

Kris Kobach Kris William Kobach ( ; born March 26, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General of Kansas. He previously served as the 31st Secretary of State of Kansas. A former Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, Kobach came ...

declared Taylor's letter to withdraw from the race to be insufficient. Taylor sued Kobach in the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...

to have his name taken off the ballot. On September 18, however, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Taylor's favor, and Taylor's name was not included on the ballot.

References

External links

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Chad 1973 births Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni Kansas Democrats District attorneys in Kansas Living people People from Shawnee County, Kansas Politicians from Topeka, Kansas University of Kansas alumni