Two former Kansas attorneys general, a Democrat and a Republican, say Kansas Supreme Court justices should keep their jobs. Five justices face retention elections this November.
The two former politicians have joined a campaign by the group Kansans for Fair Courts.
Former Attorneys General Bob Stephan and Steve Six say the Kansas justices have been fair and impartial in their rulings. They say a very small number of the court’s decision have been overturned on appeal, which shows the justices are doing good work.
Stephan says Kansans should vote to retain the justices.
“To go after somebody that’s done a great job –when there’s no showing of malfeasance– doesn’t make sense,” says Stephan.
Six says voting out experienced justices for political reasons could make it harder in the future to attract highly qualified candidates.
“If you’re going in for heart surgery, you don’t want to throw the operating team with decades of experience out in favor of some new folks,” says Six.
The group Kansans for Justice is pushing to vote out four of the Supreme Court justices. Members of that group say the justices didn’t follow the state’s death penalty laws when they overturned some death sentences.
Stephen Koranda has more on the story: