Derek Schmidt

A Kansas judge has issued an order that temporarily keeps Kansas court funding in place, but not everyone is satisfied.

Two laws are at the heart of the dispute: One law changes how chief judges are selected in district courts, while a second law says the judicial branch will lose all of its funding if the first law is struck down. It was struck down, but Attorney General Derek Schmidt obtained a court order to keep judicial funding in place until lawmakers are back in session next year.

The Kansas attorney general's office says legal disputes involving the state's gay marriage ban have cost taxpayers nearly $100,000 over the past 18 months.

The figures released Thursday cover expenses from three lawsuits but not staff time for Attorney General Derek Schmidt's employees.

Schmidt filed a petition in October with the Kansas Supreme Court to block county court clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Fresh off a win in one multi-state lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced he will join another.

Schmidt’s office said Tuesday morning he was joining attorneys general from eight other states in fighting the “Waters of the U.S.” rule intended to expand the scope of the Clean Water Act to smaller tributaries.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has been elected by his colleagues in other states and U.S. territories as vice president of their national association.

Schmidt's office says the two-term Republican received the honor during the recent summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General in San Diego.

Schmidt previously has served as the group's Midwestern regional chairman, the co-chairman of its consumer protection committee and the vice chairman of its committee on combatting human trafficking.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has picked a former state Bar Association president to lead the division in Schmidt's office that handles civil lawsuits.

Schmidt announced Monday that Dennis Depew has been appointed deputy attorney general.

Depew is from Neodesha in southeast Kansas and has had a private law practice for more than 30 years. He served as the Kansas Bar Association's president in 2013 and 2014.

He also serves on Neodesha's board of education. He was a member of the board from 1985 to 1999 and was re-elected again in 2009.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says new federal regulations threaten home health care services in Kansas.

Schmidt asked a federal appeals court on Monday to affirm a lower court ruling that blocked new U.S. Department of Labor regulations. In a court brief, Schmidt argued the federal agency overstepped its authority by s requiring overtime pay for home health care workers and reducing the services they can provide.