25th Judicial District Nominating Commission seeks nominees for district judge vacancy

TOPEKA—The 25th Judicial District Nominating Commission is seeking nominations to fill a district judge vacancy in Finney County that will be created when District Judge Christopher Sanders retires on January 4, 2025.

The 25th Judicial District is composed of Finney, Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny, Scott, and Wichita counties.

Justice Dan Biles, the Supreme Court departmental justice responsible for the 25th Judicial District, said individuals can apply or be nominated, but nominations must come 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 district court in Finney, Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny, Scott, or Wichita 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 CST Monday, November 18.

Paper submissions require one original and 14 copies of the completed nomination form, a like number of supporting documents, and one executed release form to be delivered to:

William I. Heydman
Commission Secretary
1519 East Fulton Terrace
P.O. Box 2010
Garden City, Kansas 67846

Public interviews

The nominating commission will convene at 9 a.m. CST Friday, December 13 to interview nominees. The interviews will take place at:

Finney County Courthouse
425 N 8th Street
Garden City, KS 67846

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 25th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice Dan Biles as the nonvoting chair; William I. Heydman, secretary, Tomas Ellis, Walker H. Frey, John M. Lindner, and Zachary D. Schultz, Garden City; Ralph T. Goodnight, Lakin; Ann Wiles, Leoti; Christine Cupp and Ashley Jackson, Scott City; Robert H. Gale and Megan Larkin, Syracuse; and Joyce E. Huddleston, Tribune.

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:

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