Topeka ? A state panel that will consider a disciplinary complaint against former Attorney General Phill Kline refused a request by his attorneys to postpone the hearing.

Kline, who was attorney general from 2003 to 2007, is accused of violating professional ethics while investigating abortion clinics. The disciplinary administrator’s office says Kline lied to the Kansas Supreme Court, misled a Johnson County grand jury and discussed an ongoing case on TV.

The hearing is scheduled to start Feb. 21. The panel on Monday rejected arguments from Kline’s attorneys that the hearing should be postponed until May because of its complexity and the large number of witnesses and exhibits.

The Wichita Eagle reported that it would have been the third postponement of the case, which was filed Jan. 14, 2010.