TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking all Kansas Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from a lawsuit involving the court system's budget. Schmidt announced Tuesday that the state filed a motion seeking the recusal because the justices have publicly opposed the law in question. Legislators approved a budget measure this year protecting a law that allows local judges to appoint chief judges in the state's 31 judicial districts, rather than the state Supreme Court. The budget measure says if that law is struck down, the judiciary's entire budget is "null and void." Supreme Court spokeswoman Lisa Taylor says the justices will consider the recusal motion after District Court Judge Larry Solomon, who filed the lawsuit, responds. Schmidt also argues Kansas Court of Appeals judges should hear the case.
