3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission seeks nominees to fill district judge vacancy

TOPEKA—The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission is seeking nominations to fill a district judge vacancy created by Judge Mary Christopher’s July 15 retirement.  

The 3rd Judicial District is Shawnee County. 

Justice Caleb Stegall, the Supreme Court departmental justice responsible for the 3rd Judicial District, said nominees can apply or be nominated, but it must be on a nomination form and include the nominee's signature. 

Eligibility requirements   
  
To be considered for a district judge, a nominee must be: 

• at least 30 years old; 

• a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas and engaged in the practice of law for at least five years, whether as a lawyer, judge, or full-time teacher at an accredited law school; and 

• a resident of the judicial district at the time of taking office and while holding office. 

The nominating commission selects three to five people whose names are submitted to the governor to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. 
 
The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint. 

Nomination process 

Nominations must be accompanied by a nomination form available from the clerk of the Shawnee County District C, the clerk of the appellate courts at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, or online at www.kscourts.org/judges/Become-a-Judge. 

Nominations may be submitted electronically or by paper copy. The deadline to submit a nomination with supporting documents is noon Friday, June 16. 

Electronic submissions can be sent to jdnc.nominationform@kscourts.org. Paper submissions require one original and one copy to be sent to: 
  
Justice Caleb Stegall 
Kansas Judicial Center 
301 SW 10th Ave. 
Topeka KS 66612 

Public interviews 

The nominating commission will convene to interview nominees at 9 a.m. Monday, July 24, at the Shawnee County Courthouse, in Topeka. 

Interviews are open to the public. 

Accommodation 

Any person with a disability who requires accommodation to access the nominating commission meeting should notify the judicial branch ADA coordinator as early as possible, preferably 10 working days before the meeting date: 

ADA Coordinator 
ADA@kscourts.org
785-296-2256 
TTY at 711 

Term of office 

After serving one year in office, a new judge must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position. If retained, the incumbent will serve a four-year term. 

Nominating commission 

The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice Caleb Stegall as the nonvoting chair; Toby McCullough, Rossville; and Whitney Casement, Thomas Lemon, Randall Phillips, Rebecca Sanders, and Eric Stafford, Topeka.