The process for selecting Kansas Supreme Court justices should be changed. Why? There are many reasons, but let's take a look at a few of the more important ones.
1) The members of the Nominating Commission are selected by the Kansas Bar and the governor. The governor appoints four non-attorneys to the commission. Kansas attorneys vote for the other five members.
Of the 1.7 million voters in Kansas, only about 6,000 attorneys can actually be involved in the vote for five members. The citizens of Kansas, who are subject to the rulings of appointed justices, are ignored by the "process" and they have no input whatsoever.
Only attorneys and the governor are involved. This is what used to be called the "Good Old Boys Club."
2) The so-called process is done in secret. The voters of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission are secret. The public can learn of the pool of applicants and the three chosen by the commission, but cannot discover which commissioners voted for or against which applicants. The open meeting rules do not apply to the commission.
For the full story, go to dodgecitydailyglobe.ks.newsmemory.com.
