3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission to interview nominees for judge vacancy in Shawnee County

TOPEKA—The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission will convene June 14 to interview 10 nominees to fill a district judge vacancy in Shawnee County created by the July 12 retirement of Judge Mark Braun.

The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Friday, June 14, in the Shawnee County Courthouse, 200 SE Seventh St. Interviews are open to the public.

The 3rd Judicial District is composed of Shawnee County.

The nominees are:

• Jay Befort, Topeka, deputy general counsel, Kansas Department of Revenue

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

• Jessica Domme, Tecumseh, assistant attorney general, Kansas Attorney General's Office

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

• Amy Raymond, Topeka, director of trial court programs, Office of Judicial Administration, Kansas judicial branch

• Jennifer Martin Smith, Topeka, private practice, Alderson, Alderson, Conklin, Crow & Slinkard, Topeka

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

• Kelly Trussell, Topeka, private practice, Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe, Topeka

• John Paul Washburn, Tecumseh, private practice, Washburn Law Office, Topeka

• Brett Watson, Topeka, deputy district attorney, Shawnee County District Attorney's 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 reside outside the district. The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint.

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.

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 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.