Kansas voters have a critical decision to make on Aug. 4 regarding the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to replace the current merit-based selection process for Kansas Supreme Court justices with direct elections.
Some have recently advocated in the Hays Post that the current merit-based selection of Supreme Court justices doesn’t give their particular special interest enough influence.
It seems to me that avoiding special interest influence is yet another reason to retain our time-tested selection process that has long provided Kansans with highly-qualified, impartial Supreme Court justices.
Currently, a panel composed of five experts in law and four ordinary citizens nominates three highly-qualified finalists. Then our governor selects one of these to be the next Supreme Court justice.
One year after the selection and every six years thereafter we Kansans have the opportunity to vote if we think that justice should be retained, or not, on the Court.
If the proposed amendment passes, well-monied special interests will do all they can to elect justices who not only support their particular desires but who will also be beholden to those who paid to get them elected.
Influencing the election of justices could, and likely will, become the strategy of the rich to serve their own ends, not to the general public’s benefit. We will likely see even more junk mail and vicious attack ads around election time than what we already can barely stand.
When considering this constitutional amendment, please think about the special nature of Supreme Court justices. They are not our representatives such as members of the state legislature or our governor.
The job of a Supreme Court justice requires deep knowledge of the state Constitution and statutes that they can then apply to every case that comes before them. Of course, there will always be differing interpretations among the varied justices, but their job is not to advance particular policies, it is to do their best to follow the law.
Our state Supreme Court justices provide the last word on cases they consider. Kansas Supreme Court justices must be professionally qualified to interpret the law and should be laser-focused on doing so impartially. Let’s keep money and politics out of the Kansas Supreme Court.
Please join me in voting No to the proposed amendment on Aug. 4.
— Helen Hands,
Hays