Fifteen apply for Supreme Court vacancy; nominating commission to meet May 13

TOPEKA—Seven judges and eight lawyers applied by a noon deadline today to fill a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court that will be created when Justice Evelyn Wilson resigns July 4.   
 
The applicants are: 

• Meryl Brianne Carver-Allmond, lawyer, Lawrence

• Carl Adrian Folsom III, district judge, Lawrence

• Amy Jane Hanley, district judge, Lawrence

• Randall Lee Hodgkinson, lawyer, Topeka

• Krishnan Christopher Jayaram, district judge, Lenexa

• Laura Ellen Johnson-McNish, district judge, Troy / Marysville

• Brant Mitchell Laue, lawyer, Topeka

• Kathleen M. Lynch, district judge, Kansas City

• Brian Lee Mizer, lawyer, Lawrence

• Cheryl Ann Rios, district judge, Topeka

• Anthony F. Rupp, lawyer, Olathe

• Krystal Lynn Vokins, lawyer, Lawrence

• Larkin Evans Walsh, lawyer, Leawood

• Kristen Diane Wheeler, lawyer, Wichita

• Robert James Wonnell, district judge, Olathe 

Commission to meet May 13
 
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission will meet by videoconference at 8 a.m., Tuesday, May 13, to finalize the date to interview applicants and other procedural matters.
 
The meeting will be livestreamed on the Kansas judicial branch YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@kansasjudicialbranch4804/streams. 
 
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission will conduct its activity subject to the Kansas Open Meetings Act and the Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 20-123). 
 
Public interviews and interview schedule
 
Interviews by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission are open to the public pursuant to the Kansas Open Meetings Act.  
 
The full interview schedule and brief biographical information about each applicant will be posted on the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.gov as soon after the May 13 videoconference as possible.
 
After interviewing applicants, the Supreme Court Nominating Commission will decide which three applicants to recommend to the governor to fill the position. The governor will then choose whom to appoint to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. 
 
Merit-based selection process 
  
Justices are appointed to the Supreme Court through a merit-based nomination process that Kansans voted to add to the Kansas Constitution in 1958. The process involves the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, which reviews nominees, and the governor, who makes the appointments.   
  
When there is a vacancy on the court, the Supreme Court Nominating Commission reviews applications and conducts public interviews of nominees. The commission narrows the nominee pool to three names that it sends to the governor. The governor chooses one nominee to appoint. 
 
Eligibility requirements 
  
A nominee for justice must be: 

• at least 30 years old; and 

• a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas and engaged in the practice of law for at least 10 years, whether as a lawyer, judge, or full-time teacher at an accredited law school.  

Selection criteria 
  
When the Supreme Court Nominating Commission reviews nominees for justice, they look at the person’s:

• legal and judicial experience 

• educational background 

• character and ethics 

• temperament 

• service to the community 

• impartiality 

• respect of colleagues  

About the nominating commission
 
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission is an independent body created by the Kansas Constitution. Four of its members are appointed by the governor from each of the state’s four congressional districts. These appointees are not lawyers. Four other members are lawyers elected by lawyers in each of the state's congressional districts. The commission chair is an lawyer elected by lawyers in a statewide vote.
 
Members of the commission are: Gloria G. Farha Flentje, chair, Wichita; Robert J. Frederick, Lakin; Diane Oakes, Lawrence; Jennifer M. Cocking, Emporia; Frances Gorman Graves, Bartlett; Katie A. McClaflin, Overland Park; Carol S. Marinovich, Kansas City; Thomas J. Lasater, Wichita; and Ebony S. Clemons, Wichita.