Supreme Court appoints attorney to Government Ethics Commission

TOPEKA—Chief Justice Kay McFarland today named long-time Topeka attorney Gerald L. Goodell as the Supreme Court's appointee to the state Governmental Ethics Commission.

He succeeds former Chief Justice Robert H. Miller, who has resigned after 15 years service on the Ethics Commission. Miller said in his letter of resignation that "it was a great privilege" to serve on the commission, "but the time has come to step down and let someone else have a wonderful experience."

Miller was designated as the Supreme Court's appointee to the commission following his retirement as chief justice in 1990. He had served as a justice on the Supreme Court from 1975 until 1988 and as chief justice from 1988-1990.

Goodell serves as "of counsel" to Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer, a Topeka law firm, which he joined upon his graduation from the Washburn Law School in 1958. A past president of the Topeka and Kansas Bar Associations, Goodell is currently listed as a leader in the field of real estate law in the publication Best Lawyers in America.

He has been active in education, civic and professional associations throughout his legal career, including service as the current president of the Washburn Endowment Association, and past president of the Washburn Alumni Association, Washburn Law School Alumni Association and the Washburn Law School Foundation.

He is a former chair of the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, which makes recommendations to the Supreme Court concerning applications to practice law. He also served on the Shawnee County District Judge Nominating Committee for nearly 25 years.

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission is charged with administering, interpreting and enforcing the Campaign Finance Act and laws relating to conflict of interests, financial disclosure and the regulation of lobbying.