Voters have traditionally been reluctant to oust sitting judges– much less state supreme court justices–but the Kansans for Life Political Action Committee (KFL-PAC) thinks the ‘Fire Beier’ campaign is worth waging because of egregious pro-abortion Court bias.
And now that battle is even harder, as we are competing against public service media announcements issued by the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance, a state entity that recommends ALL Kansas judges be retained.
Kansas Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier is a beneficiary of these tax-payer-funded ads, which promote the Commission’s website as the “true” information voters need for November’s election.
This Commission recommends every judge be retained (including Justice Beier) relying primarily on surveys from a limited group of insiders– mostly attorneys– even when an admittedly insufficient number of surveys was received!
A review of all profiles shows a minimum of 28 surveys is deemed sufficient, while 2 Topeka judges who received an unspecified number less than that were still recommended.
4 of the 7 appointed Kansas Supreme Court justices and 13 of the 20 appointed appellate judges are facing “retention” votes this year. The Commission approved all of them, including Justice Beier, whose pro-abortion vendetta was complained about by 2 of her senior fellow justices.
This Commission on Judicial Performance costs $700,000 annually, and aims to assist the “professional development” of judges. It is not designed to question the status quo. The surveys for the upper courts only come from judges and attorneys who appear there.
The surveys for lower court judges include input from special interest advocates, court personnel and jurors. The questions focus on the judge’s observed etiquette and comportment, and any overt leaning toward the prosecution or defense in open court.
Such random surveys of a select audience cannot NOT assess whether a judge violated the oath to be impartial by manipulating the system to benefit certain parties. As documented over the past 6 years, the paper trail of our Kansas State Supreme Court shows they:
- ruled to delay what should have been routine examination of 2 abortion business records by then-Attorney General Phill Kline;
- bent over backward to allow every stall tactic desired by abortionists and subsequent pro-abortion Attorney Generals fighting grand jury processes;
- have unjustifiably stalled the Johnson County criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood.
The unequivocal support for Kansas judges and justices by the Commission on Judicial Performance should not be construed to invalidate the ‘Fire Beier’ campaign. Voters should assess input from Kansans for Life about whether certain judges and justices have crossed the line.
LOWER COURT JUDGES
Kansas uses two methods to obtain local district judges/ judge magistrates: some counties elect them and other counties appoint them. This year, 54 local judges face retention and all have been recommended for retention by this Commission on Judicial Performance.
The 113 local judges seated by the electoral process receive confidential survey results from the Commission, which neither publishes those survey results, nor formally issues any recommendations about them. The KFL-PAC will be making recommendations for those elections this upcoming week.
The Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance should be de-Commissioned. It is tantamount to having a “guide to voter choices published by the state legislature” giving an image of legitimacy and fairness because it was published by the state and is therefore impartial and unbiased. The should instead publish lists of sites where information can be found and analyzed by voters to read/watch and evaluate for themselves after gathering the facts.
The most ridiculous part of this is that the commission goes to attorneys to gather their survey analysis. I will evaluate each candidate for retention myself–thanks to Google and other search engines–and make my decision. Each Kansas citizen should consider doing the same to maintain an impartial judiciary.
There is simply a great, insatiable human tendency to gain power and advantage over another human(s). This is the reason for having a constitution; to serve as a standard from which to judge and a protection from judicial power lust. I turn to the ancient Books of Alma, Helaman, and 3 Nephi to offer as a warning of judicial power run a muck as well as the pernicious power of priestcraft in our own government.