KS move to our judicial merit-selection process was the result of rotten politics. That upset, the so-called "triple play" happened in 1957 when former Kansas Gov. Fred Hall resigned his post just before the end of his term. The new governor, Lt. Gov. John McCuish, in turn, appointed Hall to a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court. McCuish was governor for 11 days. The maneuver led to the judicial selection system the state has today called merit selection. Now, 10,000 lawyers of the Ks bar choose the majority of the judicial nomination commission who in turn vet then secretly vote to nominate three candidates for the Governor to choose from. The Commission is a nine-member board responsible for recommending qualified individuals for appointment to the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. The Gov must then choose one of those or reject them all and allow the Chief Justice of the Ks Supreme Court to select one of those three. That has never happened. This method produces the judges more inline with the views of the lawyers in the bar or the nomination commission rather than the views of the voters in our state. This process is uniquely undemocratic and secretive. The question is, should this be changed this year? If so, what do you suggest as the best method? Options include restructure the commission with more elected members, require the commission to bring subsequent candidates if the previous three are rejected, state-wide elections, or the federal model with the gov making initial selection and senate confirmation. What do you think?
http://chumly.com/n/198c745
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