TOPEKA—The Commission on Judicial Qualifications, an advisory board charged with investigating ethical complaints against the state's judges, has been expanded from nine members to 14, under a Supreme Court order released today.
Justice Fred N. Six, liaison between the commission and the Supreme Court, said the board is being expanded to create two panels of seven members each. The commission will continue to consist of a mix of lawyers, non-lawyers, and judges from different parts of the state.
Under today's order, each panel will alternate between the preliminary investigation of complaints against judges and determining the merits of the allegations. If the investigative panel determines a violation may have occurred, the other seven-member panel, which has not participated in the investigation, will conduct proceedings to determine whether the violation occurred and make recommendations to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court order is effective May 1, and will include new appointees John W. Mize, a Salina attorney; Marcia Poell Holston, former executive director of the Kansas Bar Association, Topeka; Judges Jennifer Jones, Wichita, and Robert J. Fleming, Parsons; and Bruce Buchanan, vice president of the Harris newspaper group, Hutchinson.
They will join existing members David J. Waxse, Overland Park attorney; Judge Kathryn Carter, Concordia; Chief Judge J. Patrick Brazil, of the Kansas Court of Appeals, Topeka; Ray Call, retired editor of the Emporia Gazette, Wichita; Robert A. Creighton, an Atwood attorney; Carol Sader, Prairie Village community volunteer and former legislator; Mikel L. Stout, a Wichita attorney; and Judges Theodore B. Ice, Newton, and James W. Paddock, Lawrence.
The commission chair, David Waxse, said the commission hopes the division of labor between those investigating complaints against judges and those sitting as a tribunal to determine their merit will add to the appearance of integrity that commissioners "strive very hard to achieve. We want to not only be fair, but to be perceived as fair by both the public and by those who are the subject of investigations by the commission."
Waxse said judicial decisions that can be appealed to a higher court constitute the majority of complaints. "These arise from a misconception by the public that the commission functions as an appellate court," Waxse said. He cited examples of these inquiries as disputes in domestic cases, disagreement with the judge's application of the law, and procedural matters, particularly in criminal cases.
In 1998, the commission received 322 inquiries concerning judges by telephone, letter, or by personal visit to the office of Clerk of the Appellate Courts, which serves as secretariat for the commission. Of the 322 inquiries, 123 resulted in a complaint being filed. The commission determined 95 to be without merit with no further action warranted and 28 to warrant an investigation. Those 28 matters were placed on the commission's docket, along with 11 matters pending from the prior year. The commission issued two cease and desist orders, two letters of informal advice, and conducted one formal hearing. The remaining matters were dismissed after further investigation or are pending before the commission.