TOPEKA—A nominating commission charged with appointing a district magistrate judge in Mitchell County has issued a request for assistance from the public.
The 13-member commission is responsible for selecting a district magistrate judge to fill the vacancy which was created when Judge Bonnie J. Wilson retired effective August 1.
“The nominating commission is especially interested in receiving recommendations from the general public. All of the citizens of Mitchell County are requested to consider this matter and the names of suggested nominees submitted by the public will be welcomed by the commission,” according to Supreme Court Justice Nancy L. Moritz, departmental justice for the 12th Judicial District, which includes Mitchell County.
Kansas statutes require a district magistrate judge to be a graduate of a high school or secondary school or the equivalent; to be a resident of Mitchell County at the time of taking the oath of office and maintain residency in Mitchell County while holding such office; and to either be a lawyer admitted to practice law in Kansas or to pass an examination given by the Supreme Court and to become certified within 18 months.
Applicants are requested to complete an application for the position. The completed forms should be returned to Daniel E. Miller, Commission Secretary, 208 N. Commercial, Mankato, KS 66956, no later than noon, September 3, 2012. The forms are available in the office of clerk of the district court in Mitchell, Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Republic and Washington Counties, as well as online at www.kscourts.org.
The nominating commission will convene at 9 a.m., September 18, 2012, in the Mitchell County Courthouse, Beloit, to interview the suggested appointees. 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 appointees.
Notices of the vacancy are being mailed to every attorney in the 12th Judicial District by the chairman of the commission.
The nominating commission includes Justice Moritz, as the nonvoting chair, and Dana Brewer, Concordia; Jerry L. Harrison, Beloit; Daniel D. Metz, Lincoln; Darrell E. Miller, Mankato; Douglas G. Simms, Belleville; Regine L. Thompson, Scandia; Carol K. Good, Barnard; Dwight L. Daniels, Beloit; Michael E. Johnson, Courtland; J. Bradley Lowell, Concordia; Steven G. Melby, Mankato; and Bruce E. Meyer, Palmer.