10th Judicial District Nominating Commission selects two for magistrate judge, sends names of three nominees for district judge to governor

TOPEKA—The 10th Judicial District Nominating Commission made two appointments to fill two district magistrate judge positions and sent the names of three nominees for one district judge vacancy to Gov. Laura Kelly, who has 60 days to decide whom to appoint.

The 10th Judicial District is composed of Johnson County.

Magistrate judge selections

The nominating commission selected Curtis Sample and John McEntee to fill two magistrate judge vacancies created when District Magistrate Judge Daniel Vokins retires December 9 and District Magistrate Judge James Phelan retires December 31.

Sample is currently at The Law Office of Curtis M. Sample, LLC. McEntee is currently a senior trial attorney for Nationwide Insurance. Their appointments are effective on their swearing-in.
 
To be considered for district magistrate judge, a nominee must be:  

• a resident of Johnson 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.  

District judge nominees

The 10th Judicial District Nominating Commission sent the names of three nominees for district judge to Gov. Laura Kelly on November 18. She has 60 days to decide who will fill the vacancy created when District Judge Paul Gurney retired September 30.

The nominees are:

• Jenifer Ashford, Prairie Village, district magistrate judge, 10th Judicial District

• Katherine Sinatra, Mission Hills, general counsel, eMoney USA Holdings, LLC

• Joann Woltman, Overland Park, case smart counsel, Littler Mendelson

District judge appointment process

To be considered for district judge, a nominee 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.

The nominating commission selects three to five people whose names are submitted to the governor to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements.

Term of office

After serving one year in office, a 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 10th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice Evelyn Wilson as the nonvoting chair; Thomas Bath and Samuel Turner Sr., Leawood; James A.C. Griffith, Stephene Moore, and Annabeth Surbaugh, Lenexa; Laura McConwell, Mission; Doug Brownlee, District Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan, and Stephen Tatum, Olathe; and Janine Estrada-Lopez, Rick Guinn, Kevin Moriarty, Greg Musil, and Chris Talarico, Overland Park.