Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2008

17 apply for open 10th District judge position

Seventeen practicing attorneys in Johnson County have applied for the open district judge position in the county.

The position opened when Judge Janice Russell announced her intention to retire June 13. The applications will be considered by the 10th Judicial District Judicial Nominating Commission, which is made up of 14 members — seven attorneys elected by the 3,500 Kansas-licensed attorneys in Johnson County and seven non-lawyers appointed by the Johnson County Commission.

Justice Lee Johnson was appointed by the chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court as the non-voting chair of the commission. Karen Arnold-Burger was selected as the secretary for the commission and said the position would handle civil cases such as medical malpractice, child custody, divorces and contract disputes.

"The goal is to select the best judge in our county," Arnold-Burger said. "By the time the candidates come before (the nominating commission), we will have a lot of information on them. The more thorough the process, the better."

Each candidate will undergo two stages of background checks. When the pool is narrowed to three finalists May 8, the members of the nominating commission will conduct more research into the candidates' professional records. After that, the final list will be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to make a decision. Arnold-Burger said she expected the list to be sent to the governor May 9.

A meeting to review the applications will take place at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Jack Sanders Justice Center, Training Room B, 12400 Foster St. in Overland Park. The public will be welcome to attend the meeting, and a public comment session is scheduled.

Arnold-Burger said the public's interaction was important to the selection process.

"The public is welcome to come and make their voice heard, whether it's specific information about any of the candidates they feel is important to be shared...or if anyone has input about what qualities they would like to see in a judge, we welcome that," Arnold-Burger said.

The applicants are: David Todd Arney, Stilwell Robert Bjerg, Lake Quivira Jon Blongewicz, Overland Park Timothy Brownlee, Shawnee Paul Burmaster, Overland Park Henry Cox, Shawnee Neil Foth, Lake Quivira Christine Graham, Leawood David Hauber, Shawnee Judge James Phelan, Overland Park Timothy McCarthy, Overland Park Matthew Miller, Leawood Ronald Nelson, Prairie Village Thomas Kelly Ryan, Shawnee Sheila Schultz, Olathe Robert Scott, Lenexa Judge Daniel Vokins, Olathe

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