Judicial Philosophy of Kansas Supreme
Court
Kansas Supreme
Court Chief Justice Kay
McFarland, in a statement
in a 2005 workshop for reporters, editors, and judges sponsored by
the National Center for Courts and Media, made the following
statement:
Source: The Wichita Eagle - Fri. Dec. 02, 2005 Chief Justice Concerned About Attacks on Judiciary By John Hanna, Associated Press“Judges should not put their fingers up and see which way the wind is blowing…… That’s the heart of judicial independence.”
This statement on its face is correct in that judges engaged in true judicial activity should be fair and independent. The problem is that Justice McFarland and the other current sitting justices are engaged in massive judicial activism, hearing cases that are not properly before the Kansas Supreme Court, because they express legislative and policy making decisions which, under the Constitution, are the province of the legislature, not the courts.
The Judicial philosophy practiced by Justice McFarland is an arrogant disregard for the SEPARATION OF POWERS mandated by the Kansas and U.S. Constitutions, a grab for power condemned by our founding fathers.
The due process and equal protection clauses were never designed to strip the legislature of its policy making role. Undemocratic, centralized law making by the judiciary is a perversion of our constitutional system.Thomas Jefferson warned that judges, often seeking to expand their jurisdictions, would “twist and shape” the constitution “as an artist shapes a ball of wax.”