3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission submits nominees for district judge vacancy in Shawnee County

TOPEKA—The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission has sent the names of three nominees for district judge to Gov. Laura Kelly, who has 60 days to decide who will fill the vacancy created by the July 12 retirement of Judge Mark Braun.

The 3rd Judicial District is composed of Shawnee County.

The nominees are:

• Lori Dougherty-Bichsel, Silver Lake, administrative judge and department director, Topeka Municipal Court;

• Rachel Pickering, Topeka, assistant solicitor general, Kansas Attorney General's Office; and

• Todd Thornburg, Topeka, staff attorney and special assistant attorney general, Kansas Department of Labor.

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.

After serving one year in office, the new 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.

The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Supreme Court Justice Marla Luckert as the nonvoting chair; Toby McCullough, Rossville; and Terry Beck, Daniel Crow, Thomas Lemon, Randall Phillips, and W. Eric Stafford, all of Topeka.