To the editor:

As a former law clerk to three federal judges, including one appellate judge, I have a unique perspective into the work of a judge. With that perspective in mind, I can say with confidence that electing our Kansas Supreme Court justices would result in a far less efficient judiciary.

In addition to justices being beholden to wealthy donors, think about the work of our state supreme court justices — they hear oral arguments, read the parties’ briefs, conduct legal research, and draft judicial opinions. That’s the work appellate judges do every day. But that work will grind to a halt the moment a sitting justice has to hit the campaign trail. Winning a statewide election in Kansas requires a candidate give stump speeches, attend county fairs and talk to voters in all parts of the state. And that state-wide campaigning must start early — at least a year before the election. That election year, every minute a sitting justice spends campaigning is a minute that justice is not spending on doing the work of the court — deciding cases. And we’d be paying those justices their justice salary during their campaigns!

Imagine the docket backlogs and case bottlenecks, which surely will ripple down to our lower courts. Our state supreme court justices should be focused on quickly and efficiently resolving legal cases, not spending time campaigning across Kansas. Plus, we already vote to retain our justices every six years. I want my courts fair and efficient, so I’ll be voting NO on August 4.

Amii Castle,

Lawrence