Supreme Court justice apologizes for meeting

Topeka Facing a disciplinary panel, Kansas Supreme Court Justice Lawton Nuss today apologized for having a private discussion with two senators on school funding while litigation on the issue was pending before the court.

Nuss testified for approximately one hour and 45 minutes before a panel of the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications.

“I overstepped. I apologize for that,” Nuss said. “I also ask for the opportunity to learn from my mistakes.”

Nuss has been charged with violating judicial rules by talking about a proposed school finance bill with Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, and Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, during lunch March 1 in a Topeka restaurant.

Edward Collister, the hearing examiner for the Commission on Judicial Qualifications, said Nuss violated judicial canons that require judges to avoid the appearance of impropriety and to refrain from initiating their own research and investigations on matters before the court.

“The evidence is clear,” Collister said. “Not only did Justice Nuss make a mistake … but it was a mistake that had some consequences.”

But Nuss’ legal team urged the commission to find no violations, or at the most a issue a private reprimand.

The commission planned to deliberate on the charges later today and issue a ruling at an undetermined time.

The case has rocked state government, combining the politically charged subjects of school finance and judicial ethics.

At the time, the school finance lawsuit was the most high-profile case before the Kansas Supreme Court. The court had declared the school funding system unconstitutional because it shortchanged all students, especially low-income districts. Last month, it approved the Legislature’s new $466 million, three-year funding increase.

When word leaked out about the lunch meeting, Nuss removed himself on April 20 from further proceedings in the case.

Judges are prohibited from discussing pending litigation with interested parties outside the court. Kansas Supreme Court Justice Kay McFarland requested an investigation by the Commission on Judicial Qualifications, and House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, launched a separate inquiry.

During testimony today, Nuss said that during the lunch he had asked about the funding level of a House bill that was being considered at the time. He said he wanted to stay on top of the subject so that if the case came back before the court, he would be prepared.

“I was really trying to do my best as a justice,” he said.

Both Sens. Morris and Brungardt also testified today. They downplayed the importance of the conversation with Nuss.

And Morris made a critical deviation from prior statements he has made about the discussion.

Previously, Morris said that Nuss said he was pleased to hear reports that legislative leaders were seeking a bi-partisan school finance plan. Critics have said Nuss should not have been concerned with the politics of the school finance issue.

But today, Morris backed off that statement when asked about it. “I can’t say for sure,” that Nuss had said that, Morris said. Nuss denied saying that he told the two senators that he or anyone else on the court favored a bi-partisan plan.

Nuss said he initiated the lunch meeting with Brungardt, a longtime friend from Salina, because he was concerned about relations between the Legislature and Kansas Supreme Court.

On his way to lunch, Nuss said he took a piece of paper that had on it various school funding proposals, and wanted to ask Brungardt about the accuracy of reports on the House bill, which eventually didn’t pass.