Supreme Court Nominating Commission selects nominees to send to governor

TOPEKA—The Supreme Court Nominating Commission today voted on the names of three nominees for Supreme Court justice to send to Gov. Laura Kelly.
 
A letter from the nominating commission chair will be hand-delivered to the governor’s office to formally notify her of the commission’s selection.
 
Its delivery will begin the 60-day timeline the governor has to decide which of the three nominees she will appoint to fill a Kansas Supreme Court vacancy created when Justice Evelyn Wilson resigns July 4.
 
The three nominees are:
 
Amy Hanley
 
Hanley has been a district judge in Douglas County District Court since 2016. She previously was program director and faculty for advocacy programs at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas, and assistant attorney general for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. She graduated from Kansas State University and Drake University School of Law. She lives in Lawrence.
 
K. Christopher Jayaram
 
Jayaram has been a district judge in Johnson County District Court since 2021. He previously was a lawyer with the Horn Aylward & Bandy and Smith Free Heald & Chock law firms. He graduated from the University of Kansas and the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College. He lives in Lenexa.
 
Larkin Walsh
 
Walsh has been a lawyer with the Stueve Siegel and Hanson law firm since 2024. She previously was a lawyer with Sharp Law and Chinnery Evans & Nail law firms. She was a clerk for Judge Carlos Murguia of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas and a research attorney for Justice Carol Beier, formerly of the Kansas Supreme Court. She graduated from Southern Methodist University and the University of Kansas School of Law. She lives in Leawood.
 
Public interviews
 
The commission interviewed 15 applicants in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka before narrowing the list of nominees to three through successive rounds of voting. All interviews and voting were open to the public and livestreamed on YouTube.
 
Recordings of the commission meeting, interviews, and voting are archived on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@kansasjudicialbranch4804.
 
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 appointment.

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

To be eligible to serve as a Supreme Court justice, 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 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

 Judicial conduct

Justices must follow the law and not be influenced by politics, special interest groups, public opinion, or their own personal beliefs.

Justices demonstrate their accountability by following a Code of Judicial Conduct that establishes standards of ethical behavior. They also take an oath of office that includes swearing to support, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution and Kansas Constitution.

Retention elections

After one year in office, a newly appointed justice must seek retention by voters in the next general election to remain on the bench. Justices retained by voters serve six-year terms.

Supreme Court 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 attorneys. Four other members are attorneys elected by attorneys in each of the state's congressional districts. The commission chair is an attorney elected by attorneys in a statewide vote.

Members of the commission are Gloria G. Farha Flentje, chair, Wichita; Robert Frederick, Lakin; Diane Oakes, Lawrence; Jennifer Cocking, Emporia; Frances Gorman Graves, Bartlett; Katie McClaflin, Overland Park; Carol Marinovich, Kansas City; Thomas Lasater, Wichita; and Ebony Clemons, Wichita.