A bill that will make the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission subject to the state’s open records and meetings
laws has been signed by Gov. Sam Brownback. This new law should fix one of the Kansas Supreme Court selection system's major problems, hiding the votes of the commission, as hopefully the commission and courts will interpret this law to require the commission's votes be public records.
The other major problem with the Kansas Supreme Court selection system, the undemocratic selection of the commission, remains. Several members of the commission are selected in elections open only to members of the bar. However, secrecy in these elections has also been reduced by the recent bill, as it requires the clerk of the Kansas Supreme Court to
submit a list of the lawyers eligible to vote to the Kansas Secretary of
State’s Office ahead of these elections.
Finally, the bill requires the governor to
disclose applicants for the Court of Appeals, the Wichita Eagle explains.
Judicial Selection, by Stephen Ware, a law professor at KU, in Lawrence, Kansas.
Showing posts with label secrecy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label secrecy. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2016
Monday, May 2, 2016
Transparency in Judicial Selection
The Kansas Legislature passed a bill to increase the transparency of the state's judicial selection. It would subject the bar-empowering Supreme Court Nominating Commission to the Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act, and require the governor to disclose applicants for the Court of Appeals.
Brian Lowry of the Wichita Eagle writes "The nominating commission for the Supreme Court is made up of four members appointed by the governor and five elected by the state’s practicing attorneys. The bill will require the clerk of the Kansas Supreme Court to submit a list of the attorneys to the secretary of state’s office prior to an election of attorney members, a provision that had been opposed by the Kansas Bar Association and Democratic lawmakers."
Brian Lowry of the Wichita Eagle writes "The nominating commission for the Supreme Court is made up of four members appointed by the governor and five elected by the state’s practicing attorneys. The bill will require the clerk of the Kansas Supreme Court to submit a list of the attorneys to the secretary of state’s office prior to an election of attorney members, a provision that had been opposed by the Kansas Bar Association and Democratic lawmakers."
Monday, March 16, 2015
Progress for Bill to Reduce Secrecy of Kansas Supreme Court Selection Process
The Kansas Senate passed SB197 which would require a public list of which lawyers are eligible to vote for the supreme court nominating commission and which lawyers voted. It would also subject the commission to the Open Meetings Act.
For the Kansas Court of Appeals, SB 197 would require the governor to make public each applicant's name.
For the Kansas Court of Appeals, SB 197 would require the governor to make public each applicant's name.
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