12th Judicial District Nominating Commission seeks nominees for district judge vacancy

TOPEKA—The 12th Judicial District Nominating Commission is seeking nominations to fill a district judge vacancy in Cloud County.
 
This vacancy will be created January 1 when District Magistrate Judge Guy Steier resigns and Administrative Order 2024-JA-096 goes into effect. The order converts the Cloud County district magistrate judge position number 1 into a new district judge division number 2, also in Cloud County.
 
The 12th Judicial District is composed of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic, and Washington counties. It is one of two six-county districts with only one district judge division. The 24th judicial district is the other.
 
Justice K.J. Wall, the Supreme Court departmental justice responsible for the 12th Judicial District, said individuals can apply or be nominated, but nominations 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 Cloud County 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 district court in Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic, or Washington counties, the clerk of the appellate courts in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, or online at www.kscourts.gov/judge/vacancies.

The deadline to submit a nomination with supporting documents is noon Friday, January 17, 2025.

Nominees may submit the nomination form as paper copies or electronically. An electronic copy of the form can be submitted to jdnc.nominationform@kscourts.org.
 
Paper submissions require one original and 12 copies of the completed nomination form and a like number of supporting documents be delivered to:

Justice K.J. Wall, Chair
12th Judicial District Nominating Commission
Kansas Judicial Center
301 SW 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612-1507

Public interviews

The nominating commission will convene at 10 a.m. Monday, February 10, 2025, to interview nominees. The interviews will be at:
 
County Courthouse
811 Washington Street
Concordia
 
Term of office
 
After serving one year in office, the new district 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 12th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice K.J. Wall as the nonvoting chair; Carol Good, Barnard; Dwight Daniels and James Johnson, Beloit; Bryan Cleveland and Robert Walsh, Concordia; Tanner Johnson, Courtland; David Savage, Greenleaf; Starla Nelson, Jamestown; Bradley Steen, Lincoln; Darrell Miller and Keith Roe, Mankato; and Elizabeth Hiltgen, Palmer.