Olathe ? Prosecutors argued in a motion Tuesday that a judge’s “fleeting” involvement in prosecuting John E. Robinson Sr. in 1985 did not compromise his neutrality while issuing search warrants in Robinson’s murder case.

The argument was in response to a defense challenge to the judge’s impartiality. Robinson’s lawyers want all the evidence that was seized as a result of those searches to be thrown out.

Robinson, 58, is scheduled to go to trial in September in Johnson County District Court on charges that he killed three women. He will face three murder charges later in Missouri.

Robinson’s legal team, in a motion filed last week, questioned why prosecutors and police had gone to District Judge Larry McClain while seeking warrants during the investigation into Robinson in spring 2000.

McClain, who was an assistant in the District Attorney’s Office before becoming a judge in June 1985, had prosecuted Robinson on fraud charges before leaving the office. McClain later testified at Robinson’s criminal trial.

The defense contends that McClain later took an active role in seeking to have Robinson’s probation revoked.

Since 1987, McClain has been the judge who has handled the vast majority of law enforcement wiretap requests in Johnson County, prosecutors noted in Tuesday’s written response.

A hearing on the defense motion, along with several others, is scheduled for June 13.