Oral arguments set for December in judicial power case

The Kansas Supreme Court in December will hear a case that concerns its own power and could affect funding for the state’s court system.

The court will hear oral arguments in Solomon v. Kansas on Dec. 10. Judge Larry Solomon, chief judge of the 30th Judicial District in south-central Kansas, is challenging the constitutionality of a law passed by the Legislature in 2014 that changed the selection process for district court chief judges.

Chief judges now are elected by their peers. Previously, they were appointed by the state Supreme Court.

Solomon and other critics say the change violates the Kansas Constitution, which grants the Supreme Court authority over the lower courts.

A Shawnee County judge agreed this summer and found that the Legislature had violated the constitution with the policy.

That decision put funding for the courts in jeopardy because the Legislature passed a bill tying the policy to the judicial branch’s budget earlier this year.

A judge’s order has halted that clause for now, protecting the courts’ funding until the Legislature returns to Topeka in January. In the meantime, the standoff between the judicial branch and Legislature has gained national attention.

Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said in September that the justices wouldn’t necessarily have to remove themselves from the case even though it concerned their power.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt has called on the justices to recuse themselves, noting that many members of the court spoke out publicly against the law when it was signed by the governor in 2014.

The only member of the high court who hasn’t publicly opposed the law is Justice Caleb Stegall, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Sam Brownback months later.

Thus far, no justices have announced plans to recuse themselves.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Oral arguments set for December in judicial power case."