Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is no longer representing himself in a federal lawsuit over the state’s voter registration law that he lost after being found in contempt of court. Court documents show Kansas Solicitor General Toby Crouse will argue the case at the appeal stage. Crouse filed a notice this week on Kobach’s behalf saying he intends to appeal after Judge Julie Robinson ruled unconstitutional a state law requiring people to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.
Kobach, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said that typically the attorney general’s office would handle a complex civil lawsuit or hand it off to a private law firm. But given his experience as an appellate litigator and as a constitutional law professor, he said he wanted to assemble his own team of attorneys.
“But now, of course, regardless, I won’t have that team of attorneys here so we will be handing that ball back to the attorney general’s office,” Kobach said, a reference to the fact that he will no longer be secretary of state come January 2019.
Full Article: Kris Kobach won’t represent himself during appeal | The Kansas City Star.