Kansas judges sue House and Senate, saying lawmakers keep squeezing their budgets
Noting that Kansas district court judges make less than counterparts in every state except West Virginia, a group of the state’s jurists sued Friday to force the Kansas Legislature to increase funding.
The lawsuit said that the Kansas House and Senate continuously fails to adequately fund the judiciary, leading to stagnation in comparatively low salaries for judges and other staff. The meager budgets contribute to the lack of qualified candidates for jobs that open up because of constant turnover, according to the lawsuit.
While judges in Kansas earn in the low six-figures, nearly a third of support staff have starting salaries below the poverty line for families of four people, according to the lawsuit.
“The Judicial Branch loses staff, cannot fill vacancies, and cannot deliver justice without delay,” the 59-page memorandum supporting the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit, filed directly with the Kansas Supreme Court, asks for an order that the Legislature supplement its budget through June 1, 2020.
Lawmakers reached by The Star and The Eagle on Friday seemed caught off guard by the lawsuit, but the general issue of the judiciary’s funding was not a mystery to them.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Sen. Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat who is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “They’ve made a fairly compelling case that they’ve been underfunded.”
The judges’ lawsuit will have its critics in the Kansas Legislature, given that it’s hardly alone among government agencies that want more money.
Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said she couldn’t comment on the merits of the lawsuit until the Kansas Attorney General reviewed it.
“However, it’s unfortunate the judges who brought this case forward think a $128,636 annual salary is inadequate while we still have foster care kids sleeping in offices,” Wagle said in a statement.
Then there’s the issue of ongoing tension between the judiciary and lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said there’s “so much irony” in a lawsuit over court funding after the courts demanded “spending levels that could cause bankruptcy”— a reference to state Supreme Court decisions requiring lawmakers to increase funding for schools.
Hawkins suggested it’s a conflict of interest for the Supreme Court to rule on the issue. He said it puts the Supreme Court “in a bad place” and questioned how the justices can remain impartial.
“The courts are going to sue us and then they’re going to rule on it. Wow,” Hawkins said.
Rep. Fred Patton, a Topeka Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, called the timing of lawsuit unfortunate, given that Chief Justice Marla Luckert was elevated to the role earlier this week.
“It puts her in an awkward position ... it’s just unfortunate that really everybody now decides to go to court to sue rather than going through the legislative process,” Patton said.
In the 10 years since the judiciary took a deep cut of $11 million as the state was mired in a recession, the judicial budget has grown an average of 1.2% a year, topping out at $134.5 million in 2018.
Kansas judges received a 2.5% salary increase in 2018, their first in nine years. Even so, their salaries lag far behind what private lawyers or judges in other states get paid, according to the lawsuit.
“Few state or federal judges in the United States have gone longer without an increase in their compensation,” the lawsuit says.
Suing the Legislature were judges Robert Frederick of Finney County, Michael Powers of Marion County; Steven Hornbaker of Geary County and Merlin Wheeler of Lyon County.
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 6:24 PM.
