COURTS

Gov. Kelly's Court of Appeals pick Carl Folsom rejected again by Kansas senators

Titus Wu
Topeka Capital-Journal
Carl Folsom III answers questions from the judiciary committee on June 2 at the Kansas Statehouse. Folsom is seeking confirmation as a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals.

The Kansas Senate rejected the appointment of Carl Folsom III and approved Amy Cline to the Kansas Court of Appeals on Thursday. 

The governor appoints judges for the Court of Appeals, but her selections must be confirmed by the Senate. Gov. Laura Kelly chose Cline and Folsom last summer to fill the vacancies left by Judges G. Joseph Pierron Jr. and Steve Leben, respectively. 

Folsom, a public defender, doesn't have a good history with state lawmakers, partially because of his job, which requires representing alleged criminals in court. He has already been rejected once for another Court of Appeals vacancy.

“I fully expect that the Senate will come back and do the right thing this time,” Kelly said when selecting Folsom again. 

But history repeated itself when Folsom's confirmation was before the Kansas Senate. Some on Thursday already expressed annoyance beforehand during his confirmation hearing. 

"Explain to us if you have that respect for the legislative process and respect for the Legislature ... how does that reflect with the vote of the Senate that you're back again before us?" Sen. Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, asked Folsom.

The public defender argued that he would bring a different perspective to the Court of Appeals. He noted there never has been a former public defender sitting on the bench in the court where the vast majority of cases are criminal cases. 

"I'm proud to be the first (to get this far) and I'm proud to represent our profession," he said. "It's one that is anchored in the Constitution."

Some hinted that most of his career had no breadth of experience and that he was simply a public defender, and therefore wasn't as qualified. He pushed back at his hearing, noting that he had a private practice for three years dealing with civil cases, too.

There were some concerns that Folsom would be an "activist judge," but Folsom said he wouldn't be.

"The role of a judge is completely different. I'm not going to be an advocate for one side or the other," he said. "I'm going to be an advocate for the law, and I'm going to apply it as written by the Legislature and I'm going to apply it as it's written in the Constitution." 

But it was along those lines that Republicans cited for ultimately turning him down. Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Galena, said he disagreed with Folsom's stance that an appeals court must subject itself to case law by the Kansas Supreme Court over the federal and state constitution.

Folsom's rejection came despite multiple letters of support sent to the committee from members of the state's judicial sphere.

"I have complete faith in Carl's abilities, integrity and fairness," wrote U.S. Attorney for Kansas Stephen McAllister. "He is one of the most sincere people I have ever known, and he always represents his clients earnestly, zealously and with integrity."

Amy Cline speaks at a confirmation hearing Tuesday for a seat on the Kansas Court of Appeals.

On the other hand, the debate and confirmation hearing for Cline, a Wichita attorney with the Triplett Woolf Garretson LLC law firm, came with little drama and much praise.

"I have to say, when I reviewed your packet, the things that did impress me were not only the depth of your experience, but particularly the breadth," Baumgardner said. It was a compliment echoed by several other senators.

Cline promoted herself in her hearing on the basis of the diversity of the types of cases in which she has participated, as well as the geographical diversity of places at which she has done work. She said she would bring to the Court of Appeals the unique experience of dealing with cases related to oil and gas, natural resources, administrative law and utilities.

It also didn't hurt that she tried to meet with as many senators as possible before her confirmation hearing, Cline said.

The governor will need to nominate someone else for the seat Folsom was rejected for. There also remains one more vacancy at the Court of Appeals left by now-Kansas Supreme Court Justice Melissa Standridge, with an appointee yet to be announced.