The Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission has advanced the names of five people who want to fill two judge positions in Douglas County District Court.
Gov. Laura Kelly has 60 days — or until roughly Oct. 31 — to select two of the following candidates, according to a news release from the Kansas Judicial Branch:
- Carl Folsom III, Lawrence, assistant federal public defender
- Jessica Glendening, Lawrence, deputy defender, 3rd Judicial District Public Defender’s Office
- Blake Glover, Baldwin City, judge pro tem, 7th Judicial District
- Paul Klepper, Lawrence, judge pro tem, 7th Judicial District
- Catherine Theisen, Lawrence, attorney, Barber Emerson, L.C.
Nine nominees were set to be interviewed Wednesday. The nominating commission then narrowed down the names.
Kelly has twice appointed Folsom to the Kansas Court of Appeals, but Republicans in the Kansas Senate rejected him because most of his career has been as a state and federal public defender — though “past appointments had similar single-track resumes in other fields,” the Kansas Reflector reported.
Kelly’s most recent appointment in Douglas County District Court was Judge Stacey Donovan, who was serving as a public defender in Shawnee County at the time. Donovan was sworn in as a judge in March 2020.
The first available district judge position was the one created by Judge Kay Huff’s retirement in July. The second is a new position, which will give Douglas County seven district court divisions.
After serving one year in office, new judges must stand for retention votes in the next general election. If they are retained, they will serve four-year terms before facing another retention vote.
Justice Eric Rosen is the nonvoting chair of the Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission. It also includes Elina Alterman, Elizabeth Cateforis, Stephanie Davis, Lisa Harris-Frydman, Wesley Smith, and Daniel Watkins, all of Lawrence.
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