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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
April 13, 1987
Vol. 97, No. 131
(USPS 650-640)
Published since 1889 by the students of the University of Kansas
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By CHRISTOPHER HINES Staff writer
The state Legislature took a two and a half week recess Friday without finishing some of its homework, including several bills concerning money and programs for the University of Kansas.
"This year is exceptional in that so many bills are in conference and that so many issues are unresolved," said State Rep. Jessie Branson, D-Lawrence. "This is becoming more so every year."
State lawmakers did, however,
approve a state lottery, liquor by the
drink and a bill prohibiting nuclear
waste disposal in Kansas, before
going into recess. Two weeks ago, the
Senate threw out by four votes the
death penalty, despite strong support
from Gov. Mike Hayden.
When la...April 1990
Alan Hagman/KANSAN
The city hall in Mound City was built in 1868 and houses the old city jail.
Mound City retains small-town values.
INTERVIEW
Deanell Tacha, former chancellor for academic affairs, was awarded 1986 to a life-time position on the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals.
What does a circuit court judge do?
What does a circuit court judge do?
The circuit court is in the federal system which means that we hear only appeals on the law. For example, at the district court level, judges would hear witnesses and hear the testimony with respect to the facts, and it would look far more like a courtroom that one would see on television, for example. However, at the appellate level, parties can only appeal the application of the law to their cases. So what I do is principally a scholarly job. It is principally studying the briefs, hearing the arguments and then writing opinions.
What types of cases do you hear most frequently?
Oh, it's quite a mixture. Obviously we get a lot of criminal appeals because we have criminal appeals both from the state system and the federal system. We also get quite a mixture of environmental, labor, tax, and securities cases and then, of course, our diversity cases, which are the cases that involve citizens of more than one state.
Well, I think it goes without saying that those are among the most agonizing cases that are presented to us. As you may know, Kansas is the only state in this circuit that does not have the death penalty, so we are confronted with death penalty cases on a significant number of occasions. I think it would probably be true of every judge that we spend a great deal of time on them and work very intensively on death penalty cases.
Do you find appeals cases harder when the appellant is facing the death penalty?
Well, I must say that it's wonderful to have another woman on the court. I feel like in some ways I have not had to prove myself nearly as much as I might have, had I been the first woman. She's still on the bench, she's very active and really an outstanding judge, so I'm terribly fortunate
What has it been like being the second woman appointed to the 10th Circuit Court bench?
that I'm following in quite qualified foot-steps and thus have not had to bear the burden of being the first woman.
So you haven't experienced any uncomfortable situations about being female?
Oh, no. Now, there have been some humorous situations. Once in a long while we have a district court judge sit with us to fill out panels and just by total happenstance last summer we had a panel that was entirely female. It was the first time there'd ever been an all female panel but even more humorous were the reactions of the attorneys and people involved in the case. Of course, we didn't hear any of it but a reporter later in the Denver Post reported that these attorneys said that we were all quite well-prepared and asked good questions, as if they were surprised!
I think they were pleased. It's difficult to understand what a circuit court judge does so I think my children had a less clear impression of what I do than they might have. It has provided my family with considerably more flexibility in our schedule, at least when I'm in town. I'm home in the evenings and on the weekends and my work is such that I can do it late at night. I have been able, since I took this job, to spend my early evening hours with my children which has been quite a luxury for me. When I was an administrator at KU I was gone almost every evening and almost every weekend and that's very demanding when one has a family and children still very young.
What did your family think of your nomination?
Do you ever miss the academic life?
Do you ever miss the academic life?
Oh yes, and particularly I miss my friends at KU. The intellectual stimulation and freedom of an academic community can't be replicated. I find that one of the difficulties in my work now is the strain of reality. When I'm deciding a case, I do not have the luxury of looking at it academically. It is real people, it is lots of dollars and it is sometimes people's lives.
Deanell Tacha
'I haven't even begun to learn this job and I don't think any judge ever fully does learn it.'
To what do you most attribute your success?
Well, first of all, I never think of myself as a success. I think success is measured in terms of one's own view of whether you're fulfilling your potential and I hope I never think I've fulfilled entirely my potential or accomplished all my goals.
But to what do I attribute it? Well, there are lots of factors. I think I would put in first place my husband and my parents. My parents were the kind of people who thought that every opportunity was open and every individual had a responsibility to take advantage of those opportunities. They were challengers, that's the best way I can think of. My husband has been a facilitator and I guess I would put a combination of those three influences in first place. But there were a lot of others.
Fine education. I think students at KU are not fully aware of the caliber of this University and the standing it has not just in this country but around the world. I think the fact that I grew up in a small town was an important contributing factor. I was in a high school class of, if I remember correctly, 11 people. I always say I was the top 10 percent of my class. When you were in high school at Scandia High School, you had to be in the plays, the cheerleader, be in the band, do it all and I always thought I could do it all because of that.
What are your aspirations?
Oh. I'll stay with this job. This is a lifetime appointment. I haven't even begun to learn this job and I don't think any judge ever fully does learn it. No matter what issues come before us, we have to learn a lot about that and make decisions that are extremely important for those people or for that industry or for the country. I aspire to continue to try to contribute both in my community and in the broader community on a volunteer basis. And of course my highest aspirations are to be a good parent and to instill in my children a sense of the national and societal responsibilities that somehow somebody instilled in me.
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KANSAN MAGAZINE/April 10. 1987
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