WICHITA, Kansas, July 17, 2008 – A federal court hearing was held Thursday in the case of Linda Schneider as her attorneys want her released from custody. Her husband, Dr. Steven Schneider, has been out of jail since April.

Linda Schneider will remain in the Butler County Jail after the Judge said he would not yet decide the matter of whether Linda will be released from custody pending her trial.

"I was very encouraged with everything that I heard and I still have a lot of hope that Linda will be released,” said Pat Hatcher, Linda’s sister.

Linda Schneider’s family left the Federal Courthouse feeling optimistic after a three hour long hearing in which U.S. attorneys attempted to present Linda as a flight risk. Their only witness was fellow Butler County inmate, Stacey Hill. She claimed that while in jail together, Schneider offered her $50,000 to get a fake I.D., birth certificate and social security card.

"There was no truth to it to begin with because I know my sister and she's not going to mess anything up for herself in the trial,” Hatcher said.

Hill also said that Linda Schneider discussed her case. She is accused of running a “pill mill” with her husband, Steven, out of their Haysville clinic. Prosecutors say she and Steven contributed to the overdose deaths of 56 patients.

"This is a really complex case,” said Eugene Gorokhov, an attorney for Linda Schneider. “Linda is a person who worked at the clinic and who ran the clinic to some extent. She has a lot of knowledge about documents in the case about witnesses."

Schneider’s attorneys also said they’re concerned about how they will conduct the defense if she isn’t released from custody.

Linda Schneider’s trial is set for February 2nd, 2009 at the Federal Courthouse.

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/25589529.html