Topic: Judicial selection

Interview of Evelyn Wilson, April 21, 2025

Interviewed by Richard Ross

Evelyn Wilson’s 2025 oral history interview provides an explanation of the role of the Kansas Supreme Court. Wilson described how Supreme Court Justices are selected in Kansas and explained the importance of the judicial branch remaining separate from the other two branches of government, emphasizing that each branch was designed to be completely separate. She said there is always a method to make the law better, to change the law, if you work within the process that was designed by the writers of the U.S. Constitution. Her closing admonition, “… we all have a job to do, Show Moreand that job is so important.” It’s to vote. “The Supreme Law is the people’s law, not a king. As long as we protect the republic, that will remain the case. And if we don’t protect the republic, it might not be.”

Highlight -- short excerpt from the interview

Mentorship

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Interview of Sheila Frahm, September 17, 2004

Interviewed by Bob Beatty

During a 2004 interview former Lt. Governor and US Senator Sheila Frahm describes to Dr. Bob Beatty her recollections of serving as Lieutenant Governor with Governor Bill Graves. Frahm explores the collaborative partnership she had with Graves, recalling the process of creating an executive team and the patience required to work with a slow-moving legislature. She recalled Graves’ personal leadership style, noting that a successful governor must balance approachability and willingness to collaborate with the more solitary responsibility of making independent decisions for the state’s benefit. Frahm compared the leadership styles of other former governors whom she had Show Moreobserved. The interview paints a picture of the political culture of Kansas during the late 20th Century and the personal sacrifices inherent in a live of public service.

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Dr. Bob Beatty of Washburn University generously granted the Kansas Oral History Project (KOHP) permission to house this transcript of his oral history interview of Sheila Frahm. The KOHP Board is grateful to Dr. Beatty for making this transcript available.

A 2020 interview of Sheila Frahm is included in the KOHP Women, Then and Now Project collection on this site. Show Less

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