Topeka ? A defense attorney wants the Kansas Supreme Court to intervene in the case of a woman accused of impersonating an Indiana couple’s long-missing daughter.

Attorney Billy Rork filed a petition Thursday asking the justices to either set bail for Donna Lynette Walker or release her from the Shawnee County Jail, where the 35-year-old Topeka woman has been confined since surrendering to Kansas authorities on July 31.

Walker is charged in Boone County, Ind., with felony identity deception and misdemeanor false reporting.

Authorities said Walker claimed to be Shannon Marie Sherrill, who disappeared 17 years ago while playing hide-and-seek near her mother’s home in Thorntown, Ind., about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. However, Rork contends Walker is mentally ill and thought she might be the couple’s daughter at the time she contacted the family and authorities.

Thursday, Rork argued that Walker’s constitutional rights were being violated because Shawnee County District Court judges have refused to set bail in the face of an extradition warrant signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

In the petition, Rork said Walker “is being punished, prior to any conviction, because she has exercised her right to challenge the extradition.”

Matt All, Sebelius’ chief counsel, said he had not had time to review Rork’s petition.

Meanwhile, a separate extradition hearing in Shawnee County District Court is scheduled for Tuesday.