Citing the constitutional principle of separation of powers, the Kansas Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional a 2014 state law (House Bill 2338) that provides for the direct election of chief judges by the judges in their respective districts. This would have effectively stripped the Supreme Court of its authority to select chief district judges across the state.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruling states that the legislature essentially took away the authority of Supreme Court to administer lower courts throughout the state, a power given by the state Constitution to the Supreme Court. According to The Wichita Eagle, the Court, in effect, dared the Kansas Legislature to defund the courts which will result in the shutting down of the state court system. This is of the non-severability clause in the court budget bill passed by the legislature early this year which meant that if the court struck down any portion of the budget bill, the entire bill would be nullified.
The shutting down of the court system is an event that nobody wants. The Wichita Eagle's Dion Lefler said the legislators have three options. One is to amend the law to remove the non-severability clause. Another option is to pass a new court funding bill. A third option is to let another court case challenging the non-severability clause to take its course.
Jonathan Shorman of the Topeka Capital-Journal, as cited by The Hutchinson News, reported that the chairman of the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Jeff King (R-Independence) is saying that there is no attempt to defund the courts. The Wichita Eagle quotes Kansas House Judiciary Committee as saying the court funding will not be stopped immediately because the non-severability clause is facing a separate challenge in the court.
The Supreme Court ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by District Court Judge Larry Solomon against House Bill 2338 in the Shawnee County District challenging the constitutionality of the judges selection law. The Shawnee County judge ruled in favor of Solomon prompting the State of Kansas to appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court. The non- severability clause is facing a separate court challenge.
