TOPEKA—The 2nd Judicial District Nominating Commission is seeking nominations to fill vacancies for a district judge and a district magistrate judge.
Chief Judge Gary Nafziger of Jefferson County will retire January 11. District Magistrate Judge Blaine Carter of Wabaunsee County will retire December 8.
The 2nd Judicial District is composed of Jackson, Jefferson, Pottawatomie, and Wabaunsee counties.
District judge eligibility requirements
Nominees for district judge must be:
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at least 30 years old;
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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
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a resident of the judicial district at the time of taking office and while holding office.
The nominating commission will interview nominees and then select from three to five people whose names will be submitted to the governor to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. If there are not three nominees who reside in the judicial district who are deemed qualified by the commission, the commission may consider nominees who reside outside the district. The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint.
District magistrate judge eligibility requirements
Nominees for district magistrate judge must be:
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a resident of Wabaunsee County at the time of taking office and while holding office;
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a graduate of a high school, a secondary school, or the equivalent; and
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either a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas or able to pass an examination given by the Supreme Court to become certified within 18 months.
The nominating commission will interview nominees and then appoint a district magistrate judge.
Nomination process
One original and nine copies of the completed nomination form and supporting letters must be submitted by noon Wednesday, October 28, to:
Justice Caleb Stegall
Kansas Judicial Center
301 SW 10th Ave., Room 313
Topeka KS 66612
Nominations must be accompanied by a nomination form available from the clerk of the district court in Jackson, Jefferson, Pottawatomie, or Wabaunsee counties; the clerk of the appellate courts at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka; or online at www.kscourts.org/judges.
A nominee can indicate interest in both positions in a letter sent with the district judge application.
Public interviews
The nominating commission will convene to interview nominees for both vacancies at 9 a.m. Tuesday, November 17, and at 9 a.m. Friday, November 20. Interviews are open to the public. The location will be announced.
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 2nd Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Stegall as the nonvoting chair; David Allen, Circleville; Charles Waugh, Eskridge; J. Richard Lake, Holton; D. Max Fuller, Maple Hill; Norma Dunnaway, Perry; and Edward Pugh, Eugene Scherer, and John Watt, Wamego.