TOPEKA—A nominating commission charged with appointing a district magistrate judge in each of Harper and Kingman counties has issued a request for assistance from the public.
The nine-member commission is responsible for selecting a district magistrate judge to fill the vacancies which will be created by the retirements of District Magistrate Judges Richard Befort, Anthony; and James D. Mathis, Kingman.
"The nominating commission is especially interested in receiving recommendations from the general public.
A district magistrate judge is required to be a graduate of a high school or secondary school or the equivalent; to be a resident of the relevant county at the time of taking the oath of office and to maintain residency in the relevant county while holding such office; and to either be a lawyer admitted to practice law in Kansas or pass an examination given by the Supreme Court and become certified within 18 months.
Suggested appointees are requested to complete questionnaires for the position. The completed forms should be returned to Justice Carol A. Beier, departmental justice for the 30th Judicial District, no later than noon, October 4, 2012. The forms are available in the office of clerk of the district court in Barber, Harper, Kingman, Pratt, and Sumner counties.
The nominating commission will convene at 10 a.m., November 2, 2012, in the Kingman County Courthouse 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 vacancies are being mailed to every attorney in the 30th Judicial District by the chairman of the commission.
The nominating commission includes Justice Beier, as the nonvoting chair, and Robert R. Eisenhauer, Pratt; Alan C. Goering, Medicine Lodge; Elaine M. Esparza, Harper; Gordon B. Stull, Pratt; Lance S. Dixon, Kingman; Victor M. Elliott, Anthony; Howard K. Loomis, Pratt; and Richard L. Swayden, Medicine Lodge. The interviews will be presided over by Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss.