Supreme Court decisions create wrath among legislators

[atommom]

Another example of conservatives trying to bring judges into line with the current political climate. This is the Kansas legislature, but it mirrors developments elsewhere...

TOPEKA, Kan. - The justices of the Kansas Supreme Court haven't been making many friends lately, certainly not among legislators. First, they knocked down the state's death penalty, then demanded the state spend more money on education.

The reaction at the capitol to the unpopular orders? A proposed constitutional amendment requiring Senate confirmation of those who would sit on the state's highest court - an idea that has found backers in some states where legislators have found themselves upset with the actions of the third branch of government.

"We are seeing across several states and the federal government efforts to limit judicial independence. There is a general perception that when courts make rulings counter to prevailing political sentiments, they are somehow not doing their job," said Rachel Caufield, a Drake University politics professor and research coordinator for the American Judicature Society.

For the past 45 years, Kansas justices have been chosen by "merit selection" - designed explicitly to keep politics out of the process. A nonpartisan commission picks three finalists for jobs on the high court, leaving the final choice to the governor.

That the governor is involved raises the ire of some conservatives, who don't think Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius should have a free hand in shaping the seven-member court of a state that is predominantly Republican. But the court's recent decisions are driving the proposed changes.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/11239403.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp