New member named, two reappointed to Chief Judges Council

TOPEKA—Chief Justice Lawton Nuss appointed Chief Judge Robert Burns to complete an unexpired term on the Chief Judges Council, which provides the Kansas Supreme Court with ground-level perspective on issues facing Kansas courts.

Burns will serve on the council through December 2020. He serves in the 29th Judicial District, which is composed of Wyandotte County. He succeeds former Chief Judge Wayne Lampson, who retired from the 29th Judicial District in May.

Additionally, Chief Judge Patricia Macke Dick and Chief Judge David Ricke were reappointed to three-year terms ending in December 2022.

Macke Dick serves in the 27th Judicial District, which is composed of Reno County. Ricke serves in the 13th Judicial District, which is composed of Butler, Elk, and Greenwood counties.

Nuss said the seven-member council represents the diversity of Kansas courts and, as chief judges, the members' perspectives may occasionally differ from those held by members of the Kansas District Judges Association and Kansas District Magistrate Judges Association. Nuss said the Supreme Court values ideas and input from all three groups.

Other members of the council are:

• Chief Judge Kim Cudney of the 12th Judicial District, which is composed of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic and Washington counties;

• Chief Judge Nicholas St. Peter of the 19th Judicial District, which is composed of Cowley County;

• Chief Judge Preston Pratt of the 17th Judicial District, which is composed of Decatur, Norton, Phillips, Smith, Graham, and Osborne counties; and

• Chief Judge Joe Dickinson of the 9th Judicial District, which is composed of Harvey and McPherson counties.