TOPEKA—Chief Justice Kay McFarland today announced the formation of a commission that will undertake the first "stem to stern" study of the Kansas court system since 1974, when several major court reforms were initiated, including court unification, the re-establishment of the Court of Appeals, and changes in the way district court judges and clerks of the district court are selected.
Called the Kansas Justice Initiative, the current study will be undertaken by a bipartisan 46-member Kansas Justice Commission, whose members are being appointed in equal numbers by the governor, Supreme Court, and the legislature through the leadership of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The commission is to conduct its organizational meeting September 29th in Topeka.
Chief Justice McFarland said today's announcement of the Justice Initiative followed nearly a year of discussions between the members of the Supreme Court and the leaders of the Kansas Bar Association.
"Based upon the experience of several other states that have undertaken a similar initiative, we believe this study will be of great value in analyzing the needs and problems of our court system," she said.
"We have a broad-based commission from diverse geographical areas and backgrounds. This group will take a long, hard look at the courts and conduct a series of regional public meetings for recording the concerns of our citizens about the court system," Chief Justice McFarland said.
Co-chairing the commission are former Gov. Robert F. Bennett and Wichita businesswoman Jill Docking. Assisting them are the deans of the state's two law schools, who are serving as co-reporters for the commission. They are Dean Michael Hoeflich, of the University of Kansas law school, and Dean James Concannon, of the Washburn University law school.
Gov. Bennett said the commission's work will be encompassing. "We plan to look into virtually every aspect of the courts with an eye toward fixing what may be broken and enhancing that which may be working," he said.
Among topics that will be addressed are enhancing the access of the public to the courts; increasing the efficiency of the court system, improving the organization and funding of the courts appellate courts, as well as other concepts that may be generated by the series of regional meetings, which are to be scheduled in November.
The location of the regional meetings will be decided at the organizational meeting, but they are to be conducted in each of the four congressional districts. All citizens will have an opportunity to suggest improvements in court operations at these meetings, the chief justice said.
Current commission members and their appointing authority include:
Governor Bill Graves; Bruce Buchanan, Vice President for Newspapers, Harris News Inc., Hutchinson; Jeff Burkhead, Publisher, Southwest Daily Times, Liberal; J. Sanford Bushman, CPA, Bushman & Associates, CPAs P.A., Leavenworth; Jane A. Devore, Program Director, Leadership Coffeyville, Coffeyville; Michael C. Helbert, Attorney, Helbert-Bell, Chtd., Emporia; Jerry G. Larson, Attorney, Smith, Burnett & Larson, Larned; David McElreath, Chair and Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Washburn University, Topeka; Robert C. Muirhead, Scott City; W. Ron Olin, Police Chief, Lawrence Police Department, Lawrence; Juanita L. Sanchez, Psychotherapist, Dodge City; Marilyn Scafe, Chair, Kansas Parole Board, Topeka; Kathleen Sloan, District Court Trustee, Olathe; Delmar A. White, Pastor, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Topeka.
Supreme Court appointments:
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Hon. Barbara Ballard, Kansas Representative, Lawrence;
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Arden Bradshaw, Attorney, Bradshaw, Johnson & Hund, Wichita;
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John Brand, Jr., Attorney, Stevens, Brand, Golden, Winter & Skepnek, Lawrence;
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R. A. Edwards, President, First National Bank of Hutchinson, Hutchinson;
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Gloria Flentje, Attorney, Foulston & Siefkin, L.L.P.,Wichita;
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Hon. Stephen D. Hill, Administrative Judge, Miami County, Paola;
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John Jurcyk, Attorney, McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, P. A., Kansas City;
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Hon. Steven Leben, District Judge, Johnson County, Olathe;
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Robert Schmidt, President, Eagle Communications, Inc., Hays;
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Stan Stauffer, Stauffer Publications, Topeka;
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Hon. Nelson Toburen, District Judge, Crawford County, Pittsburg;
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Nick Tomasic, District Attorney, Kansas City;
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David Waxse, Attorney, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Overland Park.
Senate Judiciary Committee appointees by Sen. Tim Emert, chair, include: Judy Bengtson, Junction City; Emerson Lynn Jr., Editor and Publisher, The Iola Register, Iola; Jeffrey Russell, Topeka, and himself.
Minority appointments for the Senate Judiciary Committee that were made by Hon. Greta Goodwin, Winfield, include herself, John A. Potucek, Wellington; and Hon. Michael J. Smith, Winfield
House Judiciary Committee appointees include those by chair Timothy Carmody: Bob Boyd, Hill City; and Robert "Andy" Hoffman, Olathe
Minority leader appointees by Rep. Jim Garner, Coffeyville, include Philip J. Bernhart, Coffeyville; John Solbach, Lawrence; and himself.