State Judicial Elections Become Political Battlegrounds

A few hundred people gather in an auditorium at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan., to watch the state Supreme Court hear oral arguments.
Ashley Cleek for NPR
On a recent, rainy Tuesday night, a surprisingly big crowd — a few hundred people — gather in an auditorium at Hutchinson Community College to watch the Kansas Supreme Court hear oral arguments.
The justices slowly walk out in their robes and sit on a raised podium. It looks a little goofy, like a community theate