Kansas Courts and the Rule of Law
About this Collection
The role of the Kansas Courts is to guarantee the “rule of law” to every citizen, regardless of wealth or position of power. The decision-making of the appellate courts is seen only through written opinions. Interviews with former Supreme Court Justices, judges and others involved in the court system will illuminate this indispensable and often misunderstood part of the policy process. Interviews of other legislators who chaired the House and Senate Judiciary committees can be found in Statehouse Conversations.
Interview of Carol Beier, November 23, 2022
Interviewed by Richard Ross
Beier's interview explained how the judicial branch of government operates, showing how cases get to the Supreme Court and that the justices can only consider facts framed by the parties and their counsel. They don't "Google" for extra facts. They stay in the bounds of the facts as framed by the case. Beier is also an advocate for merit selection of judges and makes the case that merit selection is the most appropriate method. She gave examples of how retention elections operate. She told a story about a friend living in New York Show MoreCity who asked the question, "What do people do in Kansas?" The answer was "Everything important in life." Beier connected that response to her conclusion: A strong, healthy, supported Judiciary that understands it role and performs it well is part of "everything important in life." Show Less
Interview of Ed Larson, November 4, 2022
Interviewed by Richard Ross
This interview of longtime Kansas lawyer and jurist, the Honorable Ed Larson, gives a clear understanding of the workings of both Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. Joining the appellate court in 1987 as a general practice lawyer exposed him to many more criminal cases than he had seen in his practice in Hays. He liked the court's practice of traveling around the state for hearings. Larson believed that solving the problems of individuals was the most important work they did, although there were many high-profile cases such as the sale of Blue Cross Show MoreBlue Shield to an out-state company. Larson is a supporter of merit selection for judges and credits the availability of the retirement system for judges with allowing judges to retire with dignity and benefits. Show Less
Interview of Lawton Nuss, July 27, 2022
Interviewed by Richard Ross
Retired Chief Justice Lawton Nuss describes his attempts to be appointed to the Court of Appeals (he was not) and to the Supreme Court. Nuss served as Acting Chief during the illness of Chief Justice Davis. After becoming Chief Justice in 2010 he became the chief spokesman and administrator for the entire judicial branch of nearly 1600 employees and 250 judges. In 2014-15 he appointed a Court Budget Advisory committee to help resolve an eight million dollar budget shortfall. He discussed at length the legislative reaction to the Gannon v State school finance case which was Show Morefiled in 2010 and not finally resolved until 2019. Nuss describes his work with the conservative leadership in the state legislature, and a conservative governor, and their attempts to gain more control over the courts. He dealt with budget shortfalls that resulted in closing the courts; attempts to elect rather than appoint judges; and threats to change the role of the courts in the constitution. Nuss was a vigorous defender of the judicial system's independence against legislative interference. He cited the Supreme Court’s Solomon case which essentially answered the question, "‘Should the judicial branch have to give away some of its power granted directly by the people in their Constitution in order to get funding from the legislature.” The court's decisions on school finance continued to provoke the legislature during his tenure. Show Less
Interview of Thomas (Tim) Owens, October 14, 2022
Interviewed by Nancy Parrish
Owens described his career path from military officer to private attorney to city council member to the state legislature. He served seven years in the Kansas House and then ran for the Kansas Senate where he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Owens recounts the pressure from Governor Brownback to change the merit selection procedure for judges, making them elected. Also, the education bills were now being sent to the Judiciary committee because of lawsuits and that also caused friction because of the court's decisions on resolving the Montoy and Gannon cases. Owens also dealt with Show Morea death penalty bill which failed 20-20. He described frequent trips "across the street" carrying messages between the Chief Justice and the Governor's office. He lost his bid for reelection to the Senate in 2012 and ended up teaching at Johnson County Community College and retired from the military as a full colonel. He even served a year as municipal judge in Lenexa. Show Less
Interview of Fred Six, December 4, 2021
Interviewed by Richard Ross and Deanell Tacha
This oral history interview of retired Supreme Justice Fred N. Six is the first of a series of interviews of retired justices, judges and court personnel to examine the Kansas judicial branch. In the interview Justice Six recounts his career as Judge of the Court of Appeals and Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, reviewing changes in procedure that took place during his years on the courts and topics of litigation the courts reviewed. Six's explanation of how the Supreme Court operates is clear and interesting, especially as he discussed the "growing pains" brought about from the Show More"IT Revolution." He described precedent-setting opinions and the process of writing a dissent. A discussion of the medical malpractice issues highlighted the tension between the courts and the legislature when new policy is adopted. After Justice Six left the bench, he was asked to work with the Senate and House Judiciary committees to alter the Merit Selection plan of judges. work which was ongoing until 2011. The interview concludes with him stating that his greatest takeaway from his years of service was the establishment in 1992 of the Lawyers Fund for Client Protection. Show Less
Interview of John Vratil, September 13, 2022
Interviewed by Joan Wagnon and David Heinemann
Senator John Vratil served 14 years in the Kansas Senate, chairing the Judiciary committee 8 of those years and serving as Senate Vice-President for 10 years. Vratil was a leader in the Senate on both education issues as well as judiciary issues. He served on the Judicial Council helping the courts coordinate policy initiatives with the Administration and Legislature. He discusses the change in the power structure of the Senate, from "moderate Republican to Right Wing Conservative." He cites medicaid expansion as one example of a popular issue with the public, but not with the new "right-wing" Show Moreconservative majority. He comments the declining number of lawyers in both the Senate and House may be due to the low salaries. Show Less
Interview of Richard Walker, December 2, 2022
Interviewed by Nancy Parrish
Richard Walker's interview shows the human side of being a judge for 30 years in his hometown of Newton. After a brief foray into politics while fresh out of law school and the private practice of law, Walker found his niche on the bench in his hometown of Newton/Harvey County. His descriptions of a group of young Republican lawmakers organizing to elect Wendell Lady as Speaker are interesting. Walker became disillusioned about the parole board practices during his service there but saw a way as a judge to look for creative, flexible alternatives to Show Moreresolving domestic situations and preventing children from being damaged in the process. In 2015 he moved to senior judge status and worked with the Court of Appeals, largely because "he had had it with domestic cases." Show Less