Currently in Kansas, the state’s Supreme Court justices are elected through a nomination and appointment system. Senate President Ty Masterson and Senate Republicans are hoping to change that process. After the passage of Senate Resolution 1611, voters will have to decide if they want to allow Supreme Court justice candidates to contribute to political campaigns for a popular vote election.
Republican Senator Mike Thompson of Johnson County, Kansas, is one of the leading proponents of the potential switch-up. He has argued that the change is necessary because “Kansas has the most overturned supreme court in the nation.” He has mentioned that 87% of Kansas Supreme Court decisions since 2007 that went to the U.S. Supreme Court have been overturned, which he believes shows a problem with how Kansas Supreme Court justices are elected in the first place.
Attorney David Morantz of Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, who is also a former president of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, was interviewed and featured by Kansas Reflector (State Newsroom)to share his insight and contrasting opinion to Thompson. He clarified that the Kansas Supreme Court’s reversal rate ever since it switched to the current nomination/merit system for justices is about 66%, which is lower than the 77% reversal rate averaged among all state Supreme Courts. He further clarified, “In isolation, you can toss out almost any stat to try to make something look poor. Here, though, you can’t just look at the overall reversal rate in isolation.”
Opponents of the proposed change like Attorney Morantz worry that a popular vote election could just serve as a way for lobbyists to prop up candidates based on political agendas, potentially weakening the judiciary system in Kansas by allowing leaning ideologies to cloud laws that are meant to be fully unbiased. In an interview with KCUR 89.3 Up To Date, Attorney Morantz voiced his concerns, “[…] this is about trying to insert politics into a branch of government that should not be political, and that’s very dangerous for Kansas.”
Attorney Morantz also clarified that 13 other states use a system similar to Kansas’s current system and that a 2008 attempt to elect district judges met staunch resistance with 59% of votes against it. In other words, it looks like Kansas voters don’t want the system to be changed, raising more questions about why there has been such an adamant drive for the switch.
If you would like to know more about the discussion around this potential judicial system change in Kansas, be sure to check out both news pieces featuring Attorney Morantz:
- “Plans to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices scrutinized by critics, including court’s former chief” (Kansas Reflector)
- “Kansas Supreme Court justices are chosen through merit-based appointments. That could change” (KCUR 89.3 Up To Date)
To learn more about Attorney David Morantz or Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman, submit a contact form at any time. If you need our help with a personal injury claim or lawsuit in Kansas, we have an office in Overland Park and help clients statewide. Call (816) 542-5999 to request a free consultation.