“A blatant power grab” – ACLU of Kansas warns of Kobach-fueled attack on judicial branch

“A blatant power grab” – ACLU of Kansas warns of Kobach-fueled attack on judicial branch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 9, 2025

CONTACT: Esmie Tseng, Communications Director, [email protected]

TOPEKA, KAN. – A recent proposal in the Kansas legislature would completely overturn the current judicial selection process for the express purpose of stripping away the constitutional rights of Kansans. Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1611 was introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Friday and would rewrite much of the Kansas Constitution in order to subject judicial candidates to partisan elections.

“This is a blatant power grab by increasingly radicalized Kansas politicians – and an audacious attempt to undermine our constitutional rights that the Court has upheld,” said Micah Kubic, ACLU of Kansas Executive Director. “Attorney General Kris Kobach expressed last fall his deep yearning to politicize and usurp control from the Court. We should believe him when he says that his plan, made real in this proposed amendment, is retaliation against the Court for protecting reproductive freedom and education funding. Moreover, it is an attack on the voters themselves – who have indicated time and again that they support these rights. Attorney General Kobach needs to learn to take ‘no’ for an answer, from the courts or voters, when he attempts to trample on critical rights – rather than trying to dismantle the independence of our courts in order to get his own extremist vision implemented.”

Last fall, Attorney General Kobach openly called for a constitutional amendment as a direct response to a court whose rulings he has disagreed with. Currently, the language of the Kansas Constitution explicitly protects the independence of the judiciary, through the nomination process, and keeps Kansas Supreme Court judges out of partisan politics.

Kansas is one of 13 states that currently follows merit selection, as do Arizona, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Kansas voters currently vote in the general election on retention of a member of the Court after they have served for one year. If a justice receives the majority of the votes to retain, they remain in office for six years before another retention election. Only seven states, including Texas and Louisiana, use partisan elections for judicial selection.

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About the ACLU of Kansas: The ACLU of Kansas is the statewide affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For more information, visit our website at www.aclukansas.org.