“We don’t believe the Constitution can be read any other way. Only the judiciary is empowered to ensure the citizens’ rights are upheld, and only the judiciary is capable of determining whether laws passed by the Legislature are valid by that same Constitution.
“So why would lawmakers threaten to cut off all funding if a Shawnee County District Court strikes down last year’s law that says chief judges in district courts need to be elected by other judges instead of being appointed by the Supreme Court?
“We would suggest it’s because these lawmakers believe themselves above the law, beyond the limits of the Kansas Constitution, and accountable to nobody save the governor and powerful, rich outside interest groups.
“We also would suggest these lawmakers are attempting to hasten the arrival of the inevitable constitutional crisis. When the court demands the legislative branch to restore suitable and equitable funding to public schools, we have no doubt this Legislature will refuse…
“The mean-spirited chaos passing for the majority of today’s Kansas Legislature would merely be lamentable if they understood and abided by the state Constitution. The deliberate thumbing of their noses not only should be unacceptable to the public, but punishable under the law.”
Read more here: http://www.hdnews.net/opinion/editorials/ignorance-is-not-bliss/article_557e3a76-741f-5c30-b0b4-35efafe5c56d.html