TOPEKA—A nominating commission charged with naming candidates to fill a district judge vacancy on the Shawnee County District Court has issued a request for assistance from the public.
The seven-member commission is responsible for submitting the names of two or three nominees to the Governor for the vacancy which was created by the appointment of Judge David E. Bruns to the state Court of Appeals.
"The nominating commission is especially interested in receiving recommendations of suggested nominees to fill the vacancy from the general public. All of the citizens of Shawnee County are requested to consider this matter and the names of suggested nominees submitted by the general public will be welcomed by the commission," according to Justice Marla J. Luckert, departmental justice and non-voting chair of the nominating commission.
Kansas statutes require that a judge be a resident of the district in which selected, be at least 30 years of age, have been in the active practice of law for at least five years, and have been admitted to the practice of law within the State of Kansas.
Applicants are requested to complete questionnaires for the position. The completed forms should be returned to Justice Luckert's office, Suite 315, Kansas Judicial Center, 301 SW 10th Avenue, no later than noon, June 6. The forms are available in the office of the Shawnee County clerk of the district court. They also are available online at www.kscourts.org and at www.shawneecourt.org.
The nominating commission will convene at 9:00 a.m., June 20, in the Shawnee County Courthouse to interview the suggested nominees. The meeting will be open to the public; however, the commission has the authority to adjourn to executive session to discuss personal traits of the suggested nominees.
The law requires that the commission submit at least two names, but not more than three, to the Governor who may appoint any of the suggested nominees.
Notices of the vacancy have been mailed to every attorney in this judicial district by the chairman of the commission.
The 3rd Judicial District judicial nominating commission includes Justice Luckert, as the nonvoting chair, and Lee R. Barnett, Wakarusa; Toby L. McCullough, Rossville; Terry E. Beck, Mary M. Thomas, Mary D. Feighny, and C. Patrick Woods, all of Topeka.