Real threat to Kansas Supreme Court, judicial independence
Ethical canons prevent the justices of the Kansas Supreme Court from responding to name-calling or worse. So others will need to defend them strongly as their rulings, integrity and impartiality are assailed by elected officials and partisans from now through the Nov. 8 general election and beyond.
Legislation is being drafted at the Statehouse to curb the justices’ authority, including by putting a constitutional amendment to voters in November saying the Supreme Court can’t shut down schools in the future.
Some lawmakers would like to further punish the court for the perceived wrongs of being too liberal, too political, too slow to sign off on executions and too resolute in holding the Legislature accountable for the state constitution’s mandate to fund schools suitably.
Payback measures could be considered during the June 23 special session called by Gov. Sam Brownback to answer the court’s May 27 ruling on the inequity of school funding. Anger over the ruling might fuel another attempt to amend the constitution to give the governor free rein to pick justices, for example, or revive the Senate-passed bill making it easier to impeach justices.
The assault won’t stop with a resolution of the latest school crisis, either.
That’s because the Kansas Republican Party recently took the unprecedented step of approving a resolution supporting the defeat of four justices up for retention in November: Lawton Nuss, Marla Luckert, Carol Beier and Dan Biles. It spared a fifth justice, former Brownback administration attorney Caleb Stegall.
“Push polling” has begun as well, with questions aimed at portraying the court as soft on murderers and likely to trigger tax increases. An advertising blitz seems assured – again, with no way for the justices to respond directly themselves.
To their credit, though, justices have been appearing around the state to tell groups about the court and the crucial role it plays in Kansas.
On June 1 – the same day the justices were being blasted at the Statehouse as “judicial hostage takers” and extortionists whose rulings are “little turds” – it was striking to hear Beier and Stegall speak to the Rotary Club of East Wichita about their oath and somber responsibility as justices. Both have recused themselves from the school finance lawsuit, and declined to discuss any cases currently before the court.
As they took turns answering questions about their judicial philosophy and court procedure, there was lots of head nodding and shared sentiment. The respect seemed mutual, too.
Beier spoke of always keeping the federal and state constitutions “in front of us” and trying to set aside feelings. Stegall talked of needing to “come to a decision that is guided by the law and nothing else.”
Listening to them, it was easy to forget the real and dangerous threat to both the state’s highest court and judicial independence generally.
This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 12:06 AM with the headline "Real threat to Kansas Supreme Court, judicial independence."