Kansans are favoring retaining Supreme Court justices

Despite a vigorous campaign to oust four of Kansas’ top judges, the state’s Supreme Court appears as if it will remain intact.

With 78 percent of precincts reporting, roughly 55 percent of voters had cast a yes vote to retain those four Kansas Supreme Court justices — Carol Beier, Dan Biles, Lawton Nuss and Marla Luckert. And when it came to Justice Caleb Stegall, the fifth Supreme Court justice up for retention, 71 percent said yes.

For several months, advocacy groups actively campaigned against four of the five Kansas Supreme Court justices up for retention. Their frustration has centered on how the court has handled school funding issues and the case of two brothers convicted of robbing, raping, kidnapping and shooting five people in Wichita in 2000. Some Republicans also joined in to criticize the state’s highest court.

Conservatives — who often refer to the justices as “activist judges” — did not oppose the retention of Stegall, the only Supreme Court justice appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Kansans for Justice started because of the court’s decision in the case of Jonathan and Reginald Carr, two brothers convicted of multiple counts of murder, kidnapping and rape in Wichita.

The state Supreme Court vacated their death sentences in 2014, saying that the two should have been sentenced separately.

The U.S. Supreme Court later reversed the court’s decision.

In 2014, Kansans for Justice tried unsuccessfully to oust two of the justices.

Justices aren’t elected but do have to go through retention votes every six years to decide whether they’ll stay on. Most years, there’s little question that judges will be retained. But two years ago, some Kansans’ perception of the Supreme Court began to change.

Kansans for Life, a conservative pro-life organization, also jumped in to try to help oust four of the justices this election. It created a group called Better Judges for Kansas, trying to unseat every justice but Stegall.

To combat groups wanting to oust the judges, four former Kansas governors joined forces and traveled the state in recent months. The four said they chose to step up and speak for the justices.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Kansans are favoring retaining Supreme Court justices."