Meryl Carver-Allmond, of Lawrence, is among three nominees for a judge position on the Kansas Court of Appeals.
Carver-Allmond, Judge Rachel Pickering of Topeka, and Kristen Wheeler of Wichita are the candidates for the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Anthony Powell.
Gov. Laura Kelly must select one of the three; her selection will then be subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Carver-Allmond is the training director for the state public defender system. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University and her juris doctorate from KU.
“Before being chosen as the first-ever statewide training director in 2021, Carver-Allmond worked as an appellate attorney for over a decade, most recently leading the Kansas Capital Appellate Defender Office. Carver-Allmond serves on the Kansas Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, co-chairs the Women and Minorities Subcommittee of the Kansas Supreme Court Task Force for Attorney Well-Being and is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Douglas County Bar Association,” according to the release.
Pickering primarily presides over criminal felony cases in Shawnee County District Court and is an adjunct professor at Washburn University School of Law, according to the release. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her juris doctorate from the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law.
“Prior to her judicial appointment, she was an Assistant Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Office. She presently serves on the Ad Hoc Court Record Committee and has served on the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters,” according to the release.
Wheeler is the chair of the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals, where she presides over administrative hearings, status conferences, and pretrial hearings in matters involving tax law, according to the release. She got her bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and her law degree magna cum laude from Washburn.
Prior to her current position, “Wheeler was a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable J. Thomas Marten at the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. She was in private practice for 12 years with Robinson Law Firm, LLC and Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Ctd. where she practiced in the areas of civil litigation, real estate, business transactions, financial services litigation, and local government,” according to the release.
The Kansas Court of Appeals and Kansas Supreme Court decide cases that can have far-reaching implications for Kansans, including cases in 2016 and 2019 that protected abortion rights in the state.
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