Dear Editor:
The amendment to elect Supreme Court Justices will be on the primary ballot on Aug. 4, 2026. There are articles and signs urging a yes vote and a no vote. Some articles have mentioned the "Triple Play Scandal," and I took the time to Google it. This is what the Kansas Historical Society has to say about it.
Fred Lee Hall, a Dodge City Republican, served two terms as Kansas lieutenant governor and won the 1954 Republican nomination for governor. He supported increased spending on education and prisons, was pro-union, and unpopular with many GOP members. Facing little support in the 1956 primary, he used TV to appeal directly to voters, as Nixon did in 1952. The press reported that Nixon’s supporters had created a secret fund to cover his expenses, leading to accusations and calls for him to leave the ticket. Nixon responded with his famous “Checkers” speech.
Similarly, Hall aired 30-minute specials in Topeka, Wichita, and Kansas City, advocating prisoner rehabilitation through education and psychological support. He called for more and better-paid teachers and claimed he was elected to challenge the state's ruling men. He lost the election to Democrat George Docking. Later, he created the Triple Play with William Smith, Kansas Supreme Court chief justice and Republican stalwart, and Lt. Governor John McCuish, owner of the Harvey County Times. Here's what happened.
Justice Smith, ill and wanting to resign, didn’t want to be replaced by the new Governor, George Docking. Instead, he resigned on Dec. 31, 1956. Gov. Hall resigned 11 days before his term ended. Then Lt. Governor McCuish, retrieved from a hospital by a Highway Patrolman, was brought to Topeka and automatically became Governor. McCuish then appointed Hall to the state’s highest court, completing the Triple Play.
At the time, Kansas Supreme Court justices were elected, and this backroom deal angered many Kansans. In January 1957, the Kansas City Times ran the headline “A Brazen Raw Deal for Kansas Justice,” criticizing the secret arrangement. In response, the 1957 Legislature approved a constitutional amendment creating a merit-based system for selecting justices. Voters later passed the amendment with 70% support.
The Triple Play influenced Kansas politics, notably how the state funds public education. Lawsuits, Montoy v. Kansas (1992) and Gannon v. State (2010), challenged funding adequacy. After 14 years of legal battles, the Kansas Supreme Court ended oversight in February 2024, following legislative compliance with funding requirements.
Fred Hall served as a justice for two years, resigning in 1958 to make another unsuccessful run for governor, losing to Clyde Reed, Jr., in the primary. Mr. Reed spent most of his life as the editor of the Parsons Sun. Reed then lost to George Docking in the general election. After a successful legal career in the aeronautical industry in California, Hall returned to Dodge City to practice law.
While his political career was brief, Hall introduced television to Kansas politics and a scandal to the court system. He would be responsible for radically changing the way judges are picked and for the political battle over how our schools are funded. Hall died in 1970 at age 53.
Janice Walker
League of Women Voters
Great Bend