A recent Wall Street Journal editorial sides with the state legislature in its fued with the Supreme Court.
The constitutional battle between our state's legislative and judicial branches over school funding has captured national attention. A recent issue of the Wall Street Journal weighed in on the issue in an editorial called "Jayhawk Judgment."
At issue, of course, is whether the state's Supreme Court had the constitutional right to order the legislature to increase school funding by $853 million over the next two years. Generally, the power of the purse and to tax is in the domain of an elected legislature and not six judges who are unelected by, and therefore unaccountable to, the public. The Court maintains that the legislature has neglected its constitutional obligation to provide "suitable provisions" for funding our schools.
Not surprisingly, the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal sides with the legislature on the issue, stating, "This is a showdown between the branches of government, and the legislature has every right to protect it own constitutional prerogatives from judicial intrusion. In this case that means protecting Kansans from a judicially ordered, and thus unconstitutional, tax increase."
