Melissa Standridge
Non-Partisan | Kansas
Candidate Profile
Proven Activist
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Melissa Standridge
Party
Non-Partisan
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
Supreme Court (retention)
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Candidate did not provide
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
Justice Melissa Standridge (N) was appointed by Governor Laura Kelly (D) to fill a vacant position in 2020. Prior she was on the Kansas Court of Appeals for thirteen years. Governor Kelly stated "Standridge would bring not only a deep appreciation for the law but also a “nuanced understanding” of the world and people the law governs, citing her personal and professional experience with the foster care system."
She has received Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service from the American Inns of Court, the Carol Foreman Medal of Civility from the Kansas Women Attorneys Association and the Diversity Award from the Kansas Bar Association.
Notable Cases:
-
Hodes & Nauser, MDs v. Schmidt (Kansas Court of Appeals, 2016): Held that the KS Const protects a right to an abortion.
- Butler v. Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education (2022): Justice Standridge joined Biles opinion. Parents of students brought constitutional challenge statute requiring face masks in schools during COVID-19. Held the court did not have jurisdiction to decide parents' claims because SB 40 did not apply to the challenge. Found attorney general intervention allowed for appeal of holding. Found the attorney general was entitled to appeal the case. Held the trial court should have decided constitutionality due to doctrine of constitutional avoidance.
- State v Rinke (2021): Wall signed the pur curiam opinion. Defendant after engaging in intercourse resulting in the strangulation and death the victim was charged with felony murder and aggravated kidnapping. Court held the state failed to present substantial competent evidence that the crimes were for the purpose of sexual gratification. And defendant did not need to register as a sex offender.
Other sources:
- Cited Ellen Suni as "a influential role model and mentor." Further saying “[t]hrough her actions, I learned the importance of adhering to the rule of law, the value of a healthy work ethic and the necessity for excellence in every aspect of practice,” Standridge says. “But the most significant value she exhibited for me was her commitment to justice, fairness and inclusion.”
Judge Voter Guide gave 2 Stars and voted to "replace."
QUESTIONNAIRE
VALUES
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Did not answer
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Did not answer
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Did not answer
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Did not answer
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Did not answer
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Did not answer
What types of pro bono work have you done?
Did not answer
What types of pro bono work have you done?
Did not answer
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
Did not answer
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
Did not answer
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Did not answer
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Did not answer
Why should the voters choose you?
Did not answer
Why should the voters choose you?
Did not answer
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
Did not answer
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
Did not answer
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
Justices should not interpret the federal and state constitutions as living documents, but should use a textualist and originalist approach to interpretation.
Did not answer
Justices should not interpret the federal and state constitutions as living documents, but should use a textualist and originalist approach to interpretation.
Did not answer
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Did not answer
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Did not answer
Which current or past U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Did not answer
Which current or past U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Did not answer
How should a court address the balance between public health and individual freedoms in the time of a pandemic?
Did not answer
How should a court address the balance between public health and individual freedoms in the time of a pandemic?
Did not answer
In light of the case Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a prohibition on sexual-orientation discrimination, which justice’s opinion most closely aligns with your own opinion?
Did not answer
In light of the case Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a prohibition on sexual-orientation discrimination, which justice’s opinion most closely aligns with your own opinion?
Did not answer
What role (if any) does a judge have in maintaining the separation of church and state?
Did not answer
What role (if any) does a judge have in maintaining the separation of church and state?
Did not answer
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Did not answer
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Did not answer
When should a judge overturn past court decisions?
Did not answer
When should a judge overturn past court decisions?
Did not answer
How should a judge determine which rights are protected by the Constitution even though they are not specifically mentioned?
Did not answer
How should a judge determine which rights are protected by the Constitution even though they are not specifically mentioned?
Did not answer
What legal principles should a court consider when evaluating parents’ objection to their child obtaining medical procedures or drugs designed to affirm the child’s desired gender?
Did not answer
What legal principles should a court consider when evaluating parents’ objection to their child obtaining medical procedures or drugs designed to affirm the child’s desired gender?
Did not answer
What principles should guide a court’s analysis of whether your state’s constitution gives terminally ill patients a right to assisted suicide?
Did not answer
What principles should guide a court’s analysis of whether your state’s constitution gives terminally ill patients a right to assisted suicide?
Did not answer
Would you describe your judicial philosophy as originalist, living constitutionalist, or something else?
Did not answer
Would you describe your judicial philosophy as originalist, living constitutionalist, or something else?
Did not answer
