Attorney General Derrick Schmidt informed the courts today that the ruling in the Solomon case could have some negative financial results for the Kansas Judicial system. Chief Justice Solomon had argued that the legislative change, which strips the Kansas Supreme Court of administrative authority over district courts, is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers doctrine.
Judge Hendricks, persuaded by Justice Solomon's attorney Pedro Irigonegaray, ruled that the administrative change violated the balance of power in the Kansas constitution. Once that ruling came down, the Kansas legal system began to spin.
In a statement released on the Kansas Attorney General website, Attorney General Schmidt made the situation clear:
https://ag.ks.gov/...
“We are carefully reviewing the district court’s decision to determine next steps. My immediate concern, however, is that the court does not appear to have decided the validity of a ‘nonseverability’ clause contained in a later statute, which means today’s decision could effectively and immediately shut off all funding for the judicial branch of state government. Therefore, I intend to file tomorrow a formal request for the court to delay its decision to avoid this result. It is critical to keep the state judiciary operating.”
Kansas Republicans have called for these administrative changes in the selection and potential removal of judges from the Kansas court system. These structural changes in the selection process were directly linked to verdicts on many issues - from abortion to schools - that put an end to many of the conservative Republican legislative goals.
In an effort to make the courts a rubber stamp, the Kansas legislature enacted rule changes to the process of judicial selection. Judge Hendricks, however, found these changes put the courts at the mercy of the legislature, rather than treating them as an equal body of government.
http://www.kansas.com/...
Hendricks said for the Supreme Court, the chief district court judges represent “one of the principal instruments” for exercising authority, and stripping the high court of the power to select them “hamstrings” it.
“The Legislature has taken that power away from the Kansas Supreme Court and, thus, exerted itself over a fundamental component of the Judiciary,” Hendricks wrote.
Much of this hinged on a 1972 constitutional amendment in which the Kansas electorate changed the guidelines for the courts.
https://www.brennancenter.org/...
Kansans voted to unify the state’s court system to remedy what was seen as an inefficient judicial system. Voters passed an amendment to Kansas's constitution in 1972 that explicitly gave the Kansas Supreme Court “general administrative authority over all courts in the state,” including district courts. Judge Solomon argues that Kansas’s new law violates the constitutional amendment by removing the authority to select chief judges from the Kansas Supreme Court and giving it to district courts.
Pedro Irigonegaray, attorney for Justice Soloman, issued this statement:
“How dare these people so recklessly govern Kansas?”
And now, Kansas has a stand off. The Kansas legislature has seen numerous pieces of legislation overturned or dismantled by the court system; and this will just be the latest setback.
The question for the Kansas legislature though is whether this setback is the one that causes the legislature to shut the purse strings and leave Kansans without a funded court system as Republicans hold their breath and pout in the corner.
Update Please note: this diary was published as soon as information was made available; the skeleton diary with just a verdict is being fleshed out as information is available.
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