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Chief Judge Grant BannisterTOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court has appointed District Judge Grant Bannister as chief judge of the 21st Judicial District effective from June 16 through December 31, 2019.

Bannister will succeed Judge Meryl Wilson, who will retire June 16.

The 21st Judicial District is composed of Clay and Riley counties.

"We are glad that Judge Bannister has agreed to serve as chief judge, providing continuity in capable leadership in the 21st Judicial District," said Lawton Nuss, chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.

Bannister was appointed a district judge for the 21st Judicial District in September 2016.

“I am grateful to be surrounded by hard-working staff, clerks, and judges who are dedicated to having fair, efficient, and accessible district courts in Riley and Clay counties,” Bannister said. “I look forward to the modernization and advancements being undertaken by the judicial system to better serve the people of Kansas.”

The 21st Judicial District, along with its neighbor the 8th Judicial District, composed of Dickinson, Geary, Marion, and Morris counties, will be the first in Kansas to be brought onto a new statewide centralized case management system. The two districts will transition to the new system this summer.

Once all district and appellate courts are brought onto the centralized case management system, all case data will reside on a single web-based platform, transforming the way the state court system serves Kansans. The project to bring all courts onto the new system is scheduled to be complete by 2021.

Bannister also praised the outgoing chief judge.

“It has been a pleasure to work with retiring Chief Judge Meryl Wilson who has selflessly and admirably served the judiciary for over 22 years,” he said.

Bannister graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1997. He was in private practice in Manhattan for 19 years and also served as an adjunct professor teaching ethics in the College of Business at Kansas State University. He is married and has three children.

Each of Kansas' 31 judicial districts has a chief judge who, in addition to his or her judicial responsibilities, has general control over case assignments within the district, as well as general supervisory authority over the administrative and clerical functions of the court.

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