Summary
The Kansas Supreme Court considered whether David Scott Morrison, a Prairie Village city councilman, should be judicially ousted through a quo warranto action for willful misconduct and neglect of official duties. The court held that willful conduct under K.S.A. 60-1205(1) and (2) requires both a bad or corrupt purpose and illegal action or inaction that was not justified under the circumstances. It reversed the Court of Appeals and the district court and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- What legal standard governs judicial ouster for willful misconduct or willful neglect under K.S.A. 60-1205(1) and (2)?
- Whether a bad or corrupt purpose, in addition to intentional illegal or unjustified conduct, is required for ouster under K.S.A. 60-1205(1) and (2).
- Whether the district court abused its discretion by ordering Morrison's removal without determining whether his conduct was prompted by a bad or corrupt purpose.
Holdings
- To justify judicial ouster for willful misconduct or willful neglect, the State must establish both a bad or corrupt purpose and illegal action or inaction that was not justified under the circumstances.
- The Court of Appeals applied too high a standard by requiring persistent and habitual disregard or conduct posing a grave threat to public safety or the public fisc.
- The district court abused its discretion by failing to determine whether Morrison acted with a bad or corrupt purpose.
Key quotations
“These two standards are not synonymous, and we clarify today that such "willful" conduct requires both.” (814)
“A finding of a bad or corrupt purpose is also necessary to satisfy ouster under K.S.A. 60-1205(1) and (2).” (818)
Factual background
Morrison, an elected Prairie Village city councilman, allowed his homeless friend Kelley Malone to stay overnight in city hall on several occasions. Morrison gave Malone his councilman security code and used misleading explanations to city dispatchers regarding Malone's presence. The district court found that Morrison's conduct violated Prairie Village City Code provisions governing improper favors and use of city property for personal convenience, and also found that the conduct created unnecessary health and safety risks.
Procedural history
The State filed its quo warranto petition on January 17, 2013, alleging willful misconduct, willful neglect of a legal duty, and criminal acts involving moral turpitude. After a hearing and an advisory-jury proceeding, the district court found violations of the Prairie Village City Code and ordered Morrison removed from office. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that the evidence did not meet its heightened standard for judicial ouster. The Supreme Court reversed both lower-court judgments and remanded for application of the correct standard.
Remand instructions
The case was remanded to the district court to determine whether Morrison's conduct was prompted by a bad or corrupt purpose and to apply the governing ouster standard. The Supreme Court also held that the State's motion to set aside the Court of Appeals' stay was moot.