Letters on impeachment bill, racial profiling
Impeachment bill an attack on judiciary
The April 5 column by Davis Merritt, “Impeachment bill subverts the constitution,” highlighted a very troubling piece of legislation, Senate Bill 439, passed by the Kansas Senate. The measure includes “attempting to usurp the power of the legislative or executive branch” as grounds for impeaching state Supreme Court justices. In other words, the bill provides a novel and broad interpretation of the Kansas Constitution’s “high crimes and misdemeanors” impeachment clause that would strip the judiciary of its independence to decide cases based on the facts and the law.
This is about giving the Legislature almost unrestrained power to threaten justices with impeachment if they decide cases in a way that is contrary to the Legislature’s majority will. It destroys judicial independence and the judiciary’s essential role as a check on the political branches.
The American Bar Association decries these attacks on the judiciary and opposes any measure proposed by any state legislation, referendum or ballot initiative that would impede the ability of courts to apply the law and the Constitution fairly and independently. The judiciary is a separate and coequal branch of government, and its ability to be impartial and independent is fundamental to a free society and the rule of law.
Paulette Brown, Washington, D.C.
President, American Bar Association
Bills help restore trust
The deaths of African-Americans after contact with law enforcement officers have damaged the way police are perceived by minorities, and vice versa. The first step toward restoring trust between these two is measuring the issue.
Senate Bill 146 and House Bill 2217 would require law enforcement agencies to study if law enforcement officers practice racial profiling. The bills require all police contact with the public to be entered in a statewide database. It would include data on the race of the person stopped, reason for the stop, and result of the stop. If a pattern is discovered, such as excessive force against minorities, then changes in cultural training of law enforcement officers should be made.
SB 146 and HB 2217 are important because numbers do not lie. Data will reflect if law enforcement officers have an unconscious bias toward particular groups. Also, the bills promote transparency. The data will be posted publicly on the Attorney General’s Office website. Data will give us an idea of what police are doing when we are stopped. This is empowering for law enforcement. Transparency leads to improved trust between officers and the communities served.
Simone Cosper, Wichita
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This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Letters on impeachment bill, racial profiling."