Bill to Overturn “Merit” Selection Stalls in Kansas
February 24, 2012
Legislation to replace Kansas’ “merit” selection system with one resembling the federal system was rejected by a 22-17 vote in the Senate. The bill was passed by the House last year and has the backing of Governor Sam Brownback.
As Derrick Sontag, state director for Americans for Prosperity, put it, the change “would allow for a more transparent, citizen-based approach” to judicial selection. Like most “merit” selection states, in Kansas the judicial nominating commission is controlled by lawyers. According to news reports, legislators expect more proposals to change the state’s judicial selection system to emerge later this year.