3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission sets interview schedule for vacancy in Shawnee County

TOPEKA—The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission will convene at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 17, in the Shawnee County Courthouse to interview nominees to fill the vacancy created by the July 31 retirement of District Judge Joseph D. Johnson.

The 3rd Judicial District is composed of Shawnee County. Interviews are open to the public.

The nominees are scheduled to be interviewed as follows:

• 9 a.m. Jennifer Martin Smith, an attorney in private practice in Topeka

• 9:10 a.m. Jessica Domme, an attorney with the Kansas attorney general's criminal litigation division

• 9:20 a.m. Darian Dernovish, general counsel for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment

• 9:30 a.m. Rachel Pickering, an assistant solicitor general for the Kansas attorney general

• 9:40 a.m. Cheryl Whelan, director of open government training and compliance for the Kansas attorney general

• 9:50 a.m. Steven Roth, an administrative law judge for the Kansas Department of Labor

• 10 a.m. Break

• 10:10 a.m. Brett Berry, an attorney with the Law Office of Sarah J. Loquist in Topeka

• 10:20 a.m. Penny Moylan, a deputy disciplinary administrator for the Kansas Supreme Court's Office of the Disciplinary Administrator

• 10:30 a.m. Jason "Jake" Fisher, litigation counsel for the Kansas Corporation Commission

• 10:40 a.m. Richard Billings, an attorney with Larson & Blumreich in Topeka

• 10:50 a.m. Athena Andaya, an attorney for the Kansas attorney general's legal opinions and government counsel division

• 11 a.m. Jay Befort, deputy general counsel for the Kansas Department of Revenue

• 11:10 a.m. Break

• 11:20 a.m. Todd Thornburg, a staff attorney for the Kansas Department of Labor

• 11:30 a.m. Kelly Trussell, an attorney with Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe, Topeka

• 11:40 a.m. John Paul Washburn, an attorney in private practice in Topeka

• 11:50 a.m. Mark Dodd, executive director of the Kansas State Gaming Agency

Nominees for district judge 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 Shawnee County at the time of taking office and while holding office.

The commission will select from three to five nominees whose names will be submitted to the governor to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. If there are not three nominees who reside in the judicial district who are deemed qualified by the commission, the commission may consider nominees who live outside the district. The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint.

The 3rd Judicial Nominating Commission consists of Justice Marla J. Luckert of the Kansas Supreme Court as the nonvoting chair; Terry E. Beck, Daniel W. Crow, Thomas G. Lemon, Jolene C. Miller, and W. Eric Stafford, all of Topeka; and Toby L. McCullough of Rossville.