‘Can’t remain quiet’ about threat to judiciary

Attorney General Derek Schmidt called for a “healthy dose of humility and restraint by all involved” in a lawsuit challenging a legislative change in the way district court chief judges are picked. And after moving last week to block another provision linking the outcome in the first case to state funding of the courts, Schmidt said he hoped the temporary reprieve would “give every Kansan involved an opportunity to thoughtfully reassess the situation.” But Pedro Irigonegaray, a Topeka attorney representing the Kansas judges who are suing the state, is not about to back down. “We can’t remain quiet in face of this attack on our democracy,” Irigonegaray told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “This is an overt act to threaten the judiciary. It is an effort to use extortion on the judiciary.” – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 7:06 PM.