Discussion on Kansas panel's choices will spur debate on courts / LJWorld.com

On Kansas panel's choices will spur debate on courts

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Who should select judges has long been a topic of discussion and it's done differently in a lot of states. The issue is how to best select those peresons who are best suited to the bench. How can a political process or politician select qualified unbiased individuals who will not owe anything to anyone (thus influencing their future decisions)? http://www.justiceatstake.org/issues/state_court_issues/election-vs-appointment/

topekaj 6 months, 1 week ago

Can the governor speak more clearly, please? I don't know what he means by "whole list".

question4u 6 months, 1 week ago

"The Legislature has no role in the selection of Court of Appeals judges and Supreme Court justices, and voters determine whether they stay on the bench."

This is in line with the separation of powers described in the U.S. Constitution. it's purpose is to protect against the abuse of power, so it's not surprising that the right-wing radicals don't like it. Left-wing radicals no doubt wouldn't like it either if they held power in Kansas. The system of checks and balances is designed to prevent tyranny, and nobody, right or left, should be able to flaunt it.

volunteer 6 months, 1 week ago

This sounds like fake outrage to me. Lordy, how power hungry can the governor be?

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 6 months ago

There's a concerted effort across the country to stack the courts with ultraconservative judges, with $millions spent on the campaigns (think the Koch Bros., Karl Rove, etc.) where they are elected rather than appointed in a system similar to the one in Kansas. I'm sure it galls Brownback that he can't purge the moderates (i.e., true professionals without an ideological axe to grind) from the courts the same way he's purging them from the legislature.