Chief justice to address joint session

TOPEKA—Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss will deliver his second State of the Judiciary message to a joint session of the Legislature at 5 p.m., Wednesday, January 18, in the House Chamber.

Chief Justice Nuss said although he isn't disclosing topics of the speech, it will be an important message, given the dire financial straits of the Kansas court system in recent years. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Bill Graves in August 2002, becoming the first Court member in more than 20 years to move directly from the practice of law to the bench. He became Chief Justice in August 2010.

The first year a Chief Justice addressed a joint session of the Legislature was 1972, when the late Chief Justice Harold R. Fatzer delivered a State of Judiciary message. His speech focused on the need for an impartial judiciary that is separate but co-equal to the other branches of government as the Legislature sought new quarters for the Supreme Court due to overcrowding in the Statehouse.