The Kansas Senate has introduced a constitutional amendment to provide for direct election of supreme court justices and abolish the supreme court nominating commission.
This proposal, SCR 1611, was introduced into the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs by Sen. Mike Thompson (R-Shawnee). The proposal has been tentatively scheduled for a hearing on Monday, February 17, 2025.
SCR 1611 would abolish the merit selection process, replace it with direct elections of justices and allow justices to “directly or indirectly make any contribution to or hold any office in a political party or organization or take part in any political campaign.”
The proposal states that “Justice positions 1, 2 and 3 shall be elected at the general election in November of 2028, justice positions 4 and 5 in November of 2030 and justice positions 6 and 7 in November of 2032, and every six years thereafter, respectively.”
The Kansas Bar Association OPPOSES SCR 1611.
An independent, impartial, and qualified judiciary is more important to a republic than one which is popularly elected. The United States Supreme Court and the federal bench are good examples. Public officials elected by constituents are expected to be "representative" of the wishes and desires of the electorate. Such expectations, however, are inconsistent with an independent and impartial judiciary which, if circumstances warrant, must often protect minority interests against the will of the majority. Judges owe their first allegiance to the constitution, statutes enacted by the legislature, and the law, not majoritarian political pressures.
On balance, the Kansas Bar Association believes the merit selection of judges based on qualifications for office rather than political or fiscal abilities to win partisan elections not only is the more desirable system of selecting judges but will result in a better cross-section of judges from our ethnic and gender communities.
As such, the Kansas Bar Association Board of Governors passed the following resolution on December 7th, 2012. It reads as follows:
RESOLVED, that the Kansas Bar Association supports the merit selection system for appellate judges and justices, independent of how merit panel members are selected. The present application, interview, questioning and selection process provides the best available information to identify and select the most qualified appellate judges and justices, independent of political considerations.
The Kansas Bar Association is working with other interested parties to protect the merit selection process. These groups include the Kansas Trial Lawyers, the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, Kansas Appleseed, and Kansas Association of School Boards.
If you would like to assist in the efforts, please contact KBA Legislative Services Director Joe Molina or reach out to members of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs directly. The committee roster can be found here.
To submit testimony, refer to conferee rules.
***TESTIMONY IS DUE BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14 BEFORE 10:30 A.M.***
See - Legal groups and ACLU decry proposed partisan elections of Kansas Supreme Court
See – Joint KADC, KBA, and KTLA news release
