TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Supreme Court justice whose votes for abortion rights and against the death penalty made him a political target plans to retire in three months, allowing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to name a replacement before the Republican-controlled Legislature can intervene.

Justice Lee Johnson announced Wednesday that he will step down Sept. 8 after more than 12½ years on the state's highest court. Johnson is 72, but Kansas law would have allowed him to put his name on the ballot again in 2020 for a statewide, yes-or-no vote on whether he remained on the court for another six...