A Rant

Okay, clearly I have not been paying enough attention. I went to a Legislative Update program put on by the Kansas Bar Association today, and heard that there was a proposition on the ballot of Johnson County to elect judges (right now the judges are appointed by the Governor). One of the attorneys from Wichita said that if the attorneys in Johnson County had better be prepared to be deluged with requests for campaign contributions if it passed.

I do not recall hearing about this before, and I am a rather disturbed, even though I do not live or work in that county. About half the state of Kansas elects judges, and there was proposed legislation a couple of years ago to have them all elected, including the justices of the Kansas Court of Appeals and Kansas Supreme Court. It did not go anywhere, much to my relief.

I know that some people think electing judges is a good thing, and they are entitled to their opinions. The county I live and work in does not elect judges, but I have dealt with elected judges in other counties. Some of the elected judges are very good at their jobs. Others are not, but the same can be true of appointed judges as well.

I do not favor electing judges, but if we are going to do it, well then the Board of Bar Examiners need to add some subjects to the Bar Exam.