Dear Editor,
The bill supported by Senator Mitch Holmes from Stafford to make it easier to impeach Kansas Supreme Court justices is poor legislation and should not be passed. Currently Supreme Court justices can be impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The proposed bill would include “attempting to usurp the power” of legislators or executive branch officials.
The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Kansas both provide for three separate and independent branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The framers of the constitutions did this so that the branches of government could act as checks and balances on one another. Lately, the Kansas Supreme Court has handed down several decisions that some legislators and the governor have not liked. The Court has been fulfilling the job envisioned by the writers of the constitutions of the United States and of Kansas. The attempt of this legislation to punish the Kansas Supreme Court justices for doing their job is wrong, and the bill should be defeated.
Jari Marietta
President League of Women Voters of Great Bend