House Judiciary holds heated hearing on SCR 16-11 to let voters elect Kansas Supreme Court justices

The House Committee on Judiciary on March 13 held a multi-hour hearing on Senate Concurrent Resolution 16-11, a proposed constitutional amendment that would replace the state’s Supreme Court nominating commission with direct election of Kansas Supreme Court justices.

Jason Thompson of the Reviser’s Office briefed the committee on the resolution, explaining that SCR 16-11 would amend Section 5 of Article 3 of the Kansas Constitution to abolish the nine-member Supreme Court Nominating Commission and provide for election of justices to six-year terms with numbered positions. The brief said the resolution would also amend Section 8 of Article 3 to remove the current prohibition on justices engaging in political campaigns; comparable statutory qualifications (Article 3, section 7 and related statutes) would remain unchanged. If the legislature adopts the resolution, the reviser’s office said, it would appear…