Kansas Meadowlark: Why is a Kansas Supreme Court Justice Changing Political Parties?

Honorable Marla J. Luckert
Justice, Kansas Supreme Court

Kansas Courts are more affected by politics than most think.

In recent press reports (Lawrence Journal-World, KC Star, Topeka Capital-Journal) KU law professor Stephen Ware faulted the way Kansas picks Supreme Court justices. Ware said lawyers have too much influence in the process. The first line of Ware's online paper says "Kansas is the only state in the union that gives the members of its bar majority control over the selection of state supreme court justices."

A Meadowlark report from last July showed a biased Political Profile of Members of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission: 6 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 Republican for Moore.

While updating a July 2005 Meadowlark report, "Sebelius continues packing Kansas Supreme Court with Democrats: 5 Democrats Vs. 2 Republicans", there was a surprise change in the political affiliations of the current Kansas Supreme Court. With the retirement of Democrat Don Allegrucci, and the addition of Republican Lee Johnson, I was expecting the political balance of the Kansas high court to be 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans, but magically the balance is the other way: 4 Republicans and 3 Democrats. How did this happen?

First, here is a current summary of the political makeup of the Kansas Supreme Court (Wikipedia):

Supreme Court Justice	Political Party	Age	Comments
Justice Carol A. Beier	Democrat	49	Appointed by Sebelius in 2003. Retained in 2004. Retention election in Nov 2010, for term expiring Jan 2011.
Justice Robert E. Davis	Democrat	68	Appointed 1993 by Governor Finney. Retained 1994 and 2000. "Davis faces final Supreme Court retention effort", Wichita Eagle, Nov 5, 2006.
Justice Lee A. Johnson	Republican	60	Appointed by Sebelius in 2007.
Justice Marla J. Luckert	Republican	52	Wikipedia. Appointed 2003 by Governor Graves. Retained 2004. Retention election in Nov 2010 for term expiring Jan 2011. A CapJournal article identified her as a Democrat in 2002: "Asked to describe her judicial philosophy, Luckert, a Democrat, said, 'I think I'm very moderate and middle-of-the-road in almost everything.'" (www.cjonline.com/stories/112102/com_luckert.shtml)
Chief Justice Kay McFarland	Republican	72	Chief justice since 1995. Appointed 1977 by Governor Bennett. Retained 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002. Chief Justice. Term expires Jan 2009. Will not face any more retention elections because of forced retirement. Hays Daily News, Sept 16, 2007: "Supreme Court's first woman McFarland marks 30th year"
Justice Lawton Nuss	Republican	54	Appointed 2002 by Governor Graves. Retained in 2004. Retention election will be in Nov 2010 for term expiring Jan 2011. Native of Salina appointed by Gov. Graves from Salina. "A justice's error has cost the state's Supreme Court dearly; stern discipline is necessary", Salina Journal, Aug 13, 2006.
Justice Eric Rosen	Democrat	54	Appointed by Sebelius, July 2005. Retention election in Nov 2008 for term expiring Jan 2009 "Judge rules in Sebelius' favor but doesn't disclose his wife's contributions to Sebelius?", Kansas Meadowlark, Nov 1, 2003.

For some unexplained reason, Justice Luckert, who has been a Democrat for at least four years, with a household that is all Democratic, surprisingly switched political parties sometime in 2006 and is still a Republican in mid-November according to data from the Kansas Secretary of State.

I was curious why Justice Luckert made this switch. I was also curious about a possible conflict of interest she might have due to her husband's political contributions, so I sent the following E-mail to Justice Luckert:

Open Letter to Justice Luckert
(already sent via E-mail)

Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Subject: Political Party; Contributions

The Honorable Justice Marla J. Luckert
Kansas Supreme Court
Topeka

Madam Luckert:

Would you be willing to explain what motivated your change in party affiliation in the last year or so? After years of being a registered Democrat, you switched to the Republican party, even though all other members of your household remain Democrats.

I am curious if you could share one or two reasons why you were motivated to make this switch?

Also, do you have any concerns that your husband’s political contributions might be perceived as a conflict of interest for you?

Recipient	Contributor	Date	Dollars	Contest
BIGGS, CHRIS	MORSE, S KEN	10/22/2002	$250.00	AG
BIGGS, CHRIS	MORSE, S KEN	9/18/2002	$250.00	AG
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, S KEN	10/30/2002	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEPHEN K	9/17/2002	$500.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	10/20/2004	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	12/17/2004	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	12/5/2003	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	9/15/2004	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	11/5/2003	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	10/8/2003	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	9/8/2003	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN K	11/24/2004	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN KEN	8/11/2006	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN KEN	9/8/2006	$250.00	Gov
SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN	MORSE, STEVEN KEN	10/11/2006	$250.00	Gov

Respectfully,

The Kansas Meadowlark
[signed with name and address]

Justice Luckert has not yet responded to this E-mail.

All of Morse's contributions to Sebelius in 2003-2006 were marked "Other" on Sebelius' reports. The contributions were not cash, check, or a loan, so it's unclear what "other" is.

Other contributions made by Luckert's husband, Steven Morse, and reported on FEC reports, include:

Contributor	Occupation	Date	Amount	Recipient
MORSE, S KEN TOPEKA,KS 66610	VICE PRESIDENT LEGAL DEPT	9/13/2004	$500	Boyda, Nancy E
MORSE, S KEN TOPEKA,KS 66610	HILLS PET NUTRITION/ATTORNEY	9/12/2007	$300	Boyda, Nancy E
MORSE, S KEN TOPEKA,KS 66610		11/6/1996	$250	Docking, Jill
MORSE, STEVEN TOPEKA,KS 66610	ATTORNEY	11/8/1996	$500	Kansas Democratic State Cmte
MORSE, STEVEN TOPEKA,KS 66610	HILLPET NUTRITION/VP LEGAL & GOVT.	6/29/2004	$500	Boyda, Nancy E

Related:

"Kansans want to vote for justices, survey says," Kansas City Kansan, Nov 30, 2007.
Sebelius appoints former PAC Chair of "Republicans for Sebelius" to District Judge, Kansas Meadowlark, Aug 5, 2006.
Sebelius appoints wife of "dean of Ellis County Democratic politics" to Supreme Court Nominating Commission, Kansas Meadowlark, July 3, 2006.
"A big win for the state? Perhaps ed ruling should be rethought", AP, July 30, 2006
"Court dismisses school funding suit", Ark City Traveler, July 28, 2006. "Justices Carol Beier and Marla Luckert dissented. Writing their opinion, Beier said she would prefer to return the case to district court, keeping it alive."
"Cases do not enter public eye: Judicial Ethics", Wichita Eagle, May 21,2006.
"Chief justice concerned about attacks on judiciary", Kansas City Star, Dec 3, 2005.
"Kansas Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down Gay Sex Ruling," Gay Liberation Network, Oct 21, 2005.
"Justices: Education is a 'fundamental right'," Dodge City Globe, Sept 10, 2005 [Beier, Luckert, Davis]
"Unsealed: Court didn't follow standards in Rader case", Wichita Eagle, May 1, 2005.
"Legislators angered by high court decisions", Lawrence Journal-World, March 27, 2005.
"Kansas Supreme Court looks less predictable after ruling", Ark City Traveler, Dec 27, 2004.