Litigation

KS Editorial: Halt ?Political Takeover of Judicial Selection?

By Peter Hardin

An effort in Kansas to replace merit selection of judges on the Court of Appeals with appointment by the governor, subject to state Senate confirmation, is denounced in a Kansas City Star editorial.

The bill has passed the House and is bottled up in a Senate committee, where it ought to languish, says the editorial, entitled “Stop political takeover of judicial selection in Kansas.”

The editorial criticizes Gov. Sam Brownback for supporting a bill that would “that would jettison a judicial nominating process that has served Kansas well for more than 50 years and replace it with political appointments of judges.” It cites these concerns about the legislation:

“Lawmakers who favor the change conveniently ignore the problems inherent in seating judges who would be beholden to the very politicians who make the laws that judges are expected to review.

“Supporters of the change also come up short when asked to cite instances in which the current process has produced unqualified judges.”

In addition, the editorial warns that passage of the bill could lend momentum to “political selection of Kansas Supreme Court judges.” That would require a constitutional amendment, and voter approval.

An opposing view of the bill is offered by the Bench Memos column of National Review Online.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 18, 2011 (boomark / email).