Chief Justice Eric Rosen delivers his first State of the Judiciary speech to Legislature

TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Rosen pressed the Kansas Legislature on Tuesday to expand funding for specialty courts tailored to special challenges of defendants and asked lawmakers to collaborate on solutions to the shortage of attorneys in rural Kansas.

Rosen, delivering his first State of the Judiciary speech to a joint session of the Legislature, said the state must continue to move forward with initiatives to enhance access to justice, build public confidence in the judiciary and improve efficiency of state court operations.

“Together we are making great strides improving and strengthening our courts and serving our communities,” said Rosen, who was sworn in as chief justice last Thursday. “But much work remains to be done.”

Rosen, with a father and father-in-law who worked at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, said he had a front-row seat in his youth to the Menninger staff’s transformational work on an integrated, multidisciplinary model of treating people with mental illness. As a Shawnee County District Court judge, he became acutely aware of how individuals with mental health conditions or substance abuse disorders too often cycled through courthouses.

Data demonstrated young women with mental health issues were significantly more likely to be arrested, he said. Young men taken into custody by law enforcement were more likely to suffer substance use problems, he said.

“What we came to understand then and what we know even more clearly today: Without addressing underlying issues and providing individualized support, lasting change is unlikely,” the chief justice said.

The consequences of people mired in the judicial system led Kansas and other states to begin investing in special problem-solving courts. In Kansas, those have centered on veterans, drug treatment, mental health and family relationships. Judges who guide specialty courts aim for root causes of crime, rather than just the consequences. The goal would be to break detrimental cycles by moving people to treatment and recovery.

Rosen urged the Legislature to respond favorably to an advisory committee’s request for $1.5 million in the upcoming fiscal year to broaden the state’s specialty court offerings. Stable funding enabled the system to better coordinate services, gather more data, expand programs and guarantee accountability, Rosen said.

“Individuals who graduate from specialty court programs are more likely to live stable, productive lives and are less likely to return to court,” Rosen said.

Rural attorney shortage

Rosen outlined the state’s shortage of attorneys in rural parts of the state. Starting in 2022, he said, the judicial branch and legislators began studying how to respond to an imbalance between urban and rural Kansas. In 2024, a report containing 10 recommendations was issued. Some required legislative support, while others didn’t.

It became evident while conducting research that law students and young attorneys were unprepared to establish and operate a small law firm in a rural county. The University of Kansas and Washburn University law schools responded by developing rural curriculum with insights into business aspects of a rural law practice, Rosen said.

Rosen said the 2025 Legislature conducted hearings on a bill that would create a rural attorney training program and a tuition reimbursement program for those who attended a Kansas law school and located in a rural area after graduating. The financial aid would be modeled after comparable initiatives tied to other scarce professionals, including veterinarians and physicians. He said Senate Bill 214, which included those provisions, remained available for consideration by the House and Senate.

“I want to be clear about the challenges that lie ahead if we don’t act,” the chief justice said. “Accessing the court system will become more difficult for Kansas businesses and Kansans seeking remedies in criminal and civil matters.”

He said there was a public safety component to the shortage. Expansion of case loads for lawyers undermined access to legal representation for children in need of care cases. The lack of lawyers complicated representation for people involved in domestic conflicts as well as criminal cases, he said.

He said urban and suburban attorneys attempted to fill the gap but were stretched thin. He said the judicial branch did launch the Kansas Online Self-Help Center to provide information to Kansans about payment of fines, court forms, court contact information and hearing schedules. The portal became one of the most popular resources available to Kansans through the judicial branch’s website, Rosen said.

Constitutional amendment

During a post-speech news conference with reporters at the Capitol, Rosen said he intentionally didn’t bring up the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would transition the state to a system of electing justices to the Supreme Court rather than having them appointed by a governor. The amendment, crafted by conservatives irritated by the Supreme Court’s decisions on abortion and education, will be on statewide ballots in August.

He said it wouldn’t have been appropriate for him to delve into the proposed amendment during the State of the Judiciary speech to the Legislature.

“It’s really not before the court and it’s not something we’re going to be dealing with,” Rosen said. “That’s really up for the people to decide that question.”

Rosen, who grew up in Topeka and began his professional life as a school counselor, has been on the state Supreme Court since 2005. He served as a district court judge for 12 years prior to that appointment.

“The core values that I embraced in those early years of my training and professional experience — serving others, focusing on shared interests, working collaboratively to identify solutions and effect positive change, and acting with integrity — continue to guide my work today and I believe they are values that everyone in this chamber shares,” he said.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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