28th Judicial District Nominating Commission to meet June 17

TOPEKA—The 28th Judicial District Nominating Commission will convene by telephone conference at 10 a.m. Friday, June 17, to set the schedule to fill two district judge posts and one district magistrate post. 

The district magistrate judge post will be Saline County.

The new judge posts were certified by Administrative Order 2022-JA-020 after the Kansas Legislature passed and the governor signed 2022 House Substitute for Substitute for Senate Bill No. 267 to fund them.

The 28th Judicial District is composed of Saline and Ottawa counties. 
 
Public access  
 
The meeting is open to the public. To listen:   

• call 1-866-705-2554; and  

• enter conference code 895421#.  

Accommodation  
 
Any person with a disability who requires accommodation to access the nominating commission meeting should notify the judicial branch ADA coordinator as early as possible, preferably 10 working days before the meeting date:  
 
ADA Coordinator  
ADA@kscourts.org  
785-296-2256  
TTY at 711  
 
Eligibility requirements  
 
Nominees for district magistrate judge must be:

• a resident of Saline County at the time of taking office and while holding office; 

• a graduate of a high school, a secondary school, or the equivalent; and 

• either a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas or able to pass an examination to become certified within 18 months. 

The nominating commission will appoint the district magistrate judge following interviews.
 
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 the judicial district at the time of taking office and while holding office. 

District judge nominees to the governor  
 
The nominating commission will interview nominees for the district judge positions and then select from three to five people for each vacancy whose names will be submitted to the governor to fill the positions according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint.  
 
Term of 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.  
 
Nominating commission  
 
The 28th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall as the nonvoting chair; David Stanley of Bennington; Jay Macy of Minneapolis; Lance Cochran, Robert German, Peter Johnston, Donald Merriman, and Christine Ritter of Salina; and Robert Martin of Solomon.