4th Judicial District Nominating Commission to interview nominees for district magistrate judge vacancy in Osage County

TOPEKA—The 4th Judicial District Nominating Commission will convene May 9 to interview five nominees to fill a district magistrate judge vacancy in Osage County.

The vacancy was created when the former magistrate, Taylor J. Wine, was appointed district judge and chief judge of the 4th Judicial District.

The commission will convene at 9 a.m. in the Osage County Courthouse, 717 Topeka Ave., Lyndon. Interviews are open to the public. The 4th Judicial District is composed of Anderson, Coffey, Franklin, and Osage counties.

The nominees to be interviewed are:

• Jennifer Jolene Friend, nonattorney, Fredonia

• Bryan K. Joy, attorney, Burlington

• Robert Wayne Lattin, attorney, Independence

• Elizabeth Lee Oliver, attorney, Baldwin City

• Shannon D. Rush, attorney, Osage City

A nominee for district magistrate judge must be: a graduate of a high school, a secondary school, or the equivalent; a resident of Osage County at the time of taking office and while holding office; and 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.

After interviews conclude, the commission will appoint the district magistrate judge. After serving one year in office, the new magistrate 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.

Supreme Court Justice Eric Rosen is the nonvoting chair of the 4th Judicial District Nominating Commission. Members are Janet Walsh, secretary, Lyndon; James R. Campbell and Jim H. Dale, Burlington; Craig E. Cole, Garnett; Thomas B. DeBaun, Osage City; John A. Holmes and Forrest A. Lowry, Ottawa; and Eugene E. Highberger, Westphalia.