TOPEKA—A nominating commission charged with naming candidates to fill a district judge vacancy in the 3rd Judicial District has issued a request for assistance from the public.
The 3rd Judicial District is a one-county district consisting of Shawnee County.
The seven-member commission is responsible for submitting the names of two or three nominees to the Governor for the vacancy which will be created by the retirement of Hon. Matthew J. Dowd, which is effective September 1.
Judge Dowd has been a judge since 1977 following his election the year before. He is a 1963 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law and a 1960 graduate of Rockhurst College, Kansas City. In addition to completing six graduate courses at the National Judicial College, Judge Dowd has a Masters from the University of Nevada-Reno. Judge Dowd has been active in numerous professional, military and civic organizations during his lengthy career in the law.
“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 the 3rd Judicial District 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 Supreme Court Justice Marla J. Luckert, departmental justice.
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.
Suggested nominees are requested to complete questionnaires for the position. The completed forms should be returned to the office of Alan F. Alderson, Commission Secretary, 2101 SW 21st, Topeka, KS 66604 no later than noon, July 10, 2008. The forms are available in the office of the clerk of the district court in Shawnee County and are available online.
The nominating commission will convene at 9:00 a.m., July 15, 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.
Questionnaires and applications will be mailed to every attorney in this judicial district by the chairman of the commission.
The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission includes Justice Luckert as the nonvoting chair and Alan F. Alderson, Terry E. Beck, Mary D. Feighny, Thomas W. Kirker, Mary M. Thomas, Topeka; and Ginger A. Barr, Auburn.