Judge Jack of 11th Judicial District to sit with Kansas Supreme Court Sept. 12

TOPEKA — District Judge Jeffry L. Jack of the 11th Judicial District has been appointed to sit with the Kansas Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in one case on the court's September 12 docket.

After hearing oral arguments, Jack will join Supreme Court justices in their deliberations and opinion drafting.

“I am pleased that Judge Jack is taking time from his duties in the 11th Judicial District to sit with the Supreme Court,” said Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. “It's a great help to our court, and we look forward to his contributions deliberating this case.”

Jack said, “I am honored to be asked to sit with the Kansas Supreme Court. It is a privilege to have this opportunity to serve the people of Kansas.”

Jack was appointed a Labette County district judge in 2005. He served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005 and was vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee in 2005. He was in private practice from 1989 to 2005. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve and Kansas Army National Guard for 20 years, retiring as major. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1987 after earning a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1983.

All Supreme Court oral arguments are webcast live through the Watch Supreme Court Live! Link in the right-hand column of the Kansas Judicial Branch website at www.kscourts.org.

The case Jack will hear is the first one scheduled on the Supreme Court's 9 a.m. docket Tuesday, September 12.

Appeal No. 113,103: In re Marriage of Joann and Alfonza Williams

Shawnee County: (Petition for Review) This case involves a challenge to the district court's jurisdiction to divide military retirement benefits pursuant to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act. Nineteen years after the divorce, the ex-wife sought to enforce a provision of the divorce decree that awarded her 25 percent of her former husband's Army retirement benefits. He argued that the district court lacked jurisdiction to divide his military retirement benefits. The district court held it had jurisdiction and awarded the ex-wife's request for attorney fees. A Court of Appeals panel affirmed. Issues on review are whether the district court properly awarded: 1) benefits to the ex-wife under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act; and 2) attorney fees. The Supreme Court will also review whether the ex-wife can pursue a garnishment action for the attorney fees.