History of the Kansas Supreme Court Justices

When Kansas became a state, the constitution created a Supreme Court consisting of one chief justice and two associate justices elected from the state at large for six-year terms. In 1900, a constitutional amendment was approved by the voters of Kansas to increase the number of justices to seven--the same number as today. In 1958, another constitutional amendment changed the selection of justices from a partisan election to an appointment process. Under the plan adopted in 1958 and still in existence today, there is an initial screening of candidates by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The commission nominates three persons for appointment by the governor. The governor makes the appointment and that justice stands for retention elections every six years.