Wichita judge appointed to work with international court

TOPEKA—Sedgwick County District Judge Michael Hoelscher was appointed to serve as the Kansas representative to an international court of law that deals with parental child abduction.

Hoelscher, who was designated by Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court, presides over the family law department of the 18th Judicial District in Wichita.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve as the Kansas representative to the International Hague Network of Judges,” said Hoelscher. “Unfortunately, legal issues affecting families sometimes extend across international borders. My hope is that I can help bring about a just result that is in the best interests of the children in these difficult cases.”

The International Hague Network of Judges was created to help link U.S. judges with counterparts overseas in parental child abduction cases. Additionally, the group works to train state and federal judges about the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. That treaty provides the means to return a child who is taken across international borders.

Four U.S. judges oversee the United States Hague Network of Judges and are designated by the State Department. They are Senior Circuit Judge Judith Kreeger of the 11th Judicial Circuit in Florida, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte of Maryland, Superior Court Associate Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo of Washington, D.C., and Chief Judge Mary Sheffield of the Missouri Court of Appeals.

They, in turn, have asked each state's chief justice to appoint a judge with significant family law experience who can be available to communicate with international judges on matters of alleged parental child abduction.

Hoelscher, who was elected to the bench in 2014, worked six years in the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office and six years in the Wichita City Attorney's Office following his graduation from the Washburn University School of Law. He holds a bachelor's degree from Newman University.