TOPEKA—Chief Judge Jeff Goering of the 18th Judicial District has been appointed to sit with the Kansas Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in two cases during the court's special session October 7 in El Dorado.
The court's special evening session is part of its ongoing outreach to familiarize Kansans with the high court, its work, and the overall role of the Kansas judiciary.
After hearing oral arguments, Goering will join Supreme Court justices in their deliberations and decision drafting.
“I am pleased Chief Judge Goering is able to join us for this special session. It's on top of his fulltime duties with the 18th Judicial District, and it's a great help to our court," said Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. “We look forward to his contributions deliberating and eventually deciding the cases we will hear at El Dorado High School.”
Goering will sit in place of Justice Lee Johnson, whose September 8 retirement triggered a merit-based nomination process that Kansans voted to add to the Kansas Constitution in 1958. A nine-member commission is charged with reviewing applicants, conducting public interviews, and giving the names of three to the governor. The governor chooses which one to appoint.
“I greatly appreciate the chance to be a part of the Supreme Court’s traveling docket," Goering said. "I’d like to thank Chief Justice Nuss and the other justices for allowing me to be part of this unique opportunity to sit with the Supreme Court in El Dorado.”
Goering was elected in 2004 as a district judge and was appointed chief judge in June. The 18th Judicial District is composed of Sedgwick County.
Goering graduated from Washburn University School of Law, then worked as an assistant district attorney in Sedgwick County from 1991 to 1992. He was in private practice in Leavenworth from 1992 to 1996, during which time he also was municipal judge for the City of Leavenworth. He returned to Wichita and was in private practice from 1996 to 2005. During that time he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, serving from 2003 to 2004.
He was a member of the Kansas Sentencing Commission from 2003 to 2004.
All Supreme Court oral arguments are webcast live through the Watch Supreme Court Live! link in the right-hand column of the Kansas Judicial Branch website at www.kscourts.org.
The cases to be heard in El Dorado will be announced later.