In a move that’s already sparking debate — and the Kansas legislative session doesn’t start for close to a month — several district court judges have filed suit against state lawmakers in an effort to increase funding for the judiciary branch as a whole.
Lyon County Administrative Judge Merlin Wheeler has joined Geary County’s Steven Hornbaker, Marion County’s Michael Powers and Finney County’s Robert Frederick in the lawsuit. The suit filed with the Kansas Supreme Court asks for supplemental funding through June 1.
Judges received a 2.5-percent pay raise last year. It was their first in nine years, but the lawsuit says Kansas judges are paid lower that private lawyers or judges in other states. The judiciary branch took an $11 million cut in 2009. Since then, the budget has grown at an average rate of 1.2 percent a year and now sits at around $135 million, according to the Wichita Eagle.
The lawsuit also says nearly a third of the judiciary’s support staff have starting salaries below the poverty line for families of four people, meaning ongoing issues in finding and retaining qualified workers.
Wheeler is holding off on additional comment at this time. Local lawmakers are waiting to review the filing before they comment, but Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican, found fault with the lawsuit’s demand at a time when foster children are sleeping in offices. Another Republican, House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, was upset on two fronts. He says there is a potential conflict of interest in having the Kansas Supreme Court decide the case, and he believes the lawsuit is ironic after the judiciary demanded “spending levels that could cause bankruptcy” when it comes to public school funding.
Click here for the lawsuit, courtesy Sunflower State Journal.
