Lawyer James Bopp, Jr., a sort of Indiana cross between Michigan's Bob LaBrant and Richard McLellan, has sued to stop the governor of Kansas from filling a Supreme Court vacancy under Kansas constitution's provisions, contending that the provisions that give lawyers a majority voice in selecting nominees, violates the 14th amendment.
Plaintiffs challenge the system for selecting Supreme Court Justices in Kansas with respect to the composition of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The Commission is given the power to select the nominees for vacant positions on the Kansas Supreme Court, as well as on the Court of Appeals. The Governor must select one of the Commission's three nominees to fill a vacancy. If the Governor fails to make an appointment from the Commission's list, the chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court is given the power to make the appointment from the list. Invariably, one of the nominees selected by the Commission will become a justice or judge in Kansas, so that the Commission determines the composition of the judiciary in Kansas. Five of the nine members of the Commission are elected exclusively by the members of the bar of Kansas. This restricted election denies the citizens of Kansas the right to vote and the right to participate equally in the selection of justices and judges in Kansas.
One of the plaintiffs put it in plainer terms to the Wichita Eagle: "I've been talking to friends in the community, and a lot of us believe the current method of selecting Supreme Court Justices is just not right."
Here's the complaint (PDF).
Art: The Wicked Witch of The West, melting after being doused by Dorothy, from the first edition of The Wizard of Oz.
