TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Wilson will retire, effective July 4, following a recent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Wilson’s letter of resignation submitted Monday to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly began: “Life changes, so plans change.”
She wrote in the letter that the diagnosis has progressed to such a point that her ability to perform the job is “no longer at the level of excellence sufficient to suit me.” Wilson, 65, added she intends to stay in her position until July 4 to see unfinished projects through.
Wilson has served on the Kansas Supreme Court since 2020. Kelly appointed Wilson in 2019. She served as a Shawnee County district judge beginning in 2004, and the final five of those years before her appointment to the Supreme Court were spent as the district’s chief judge. Before the bench, Wilson practiced law in Topeka and northwest Kansas, and she graduated from Bethany College in West Virginia and Washburn University School of Law. She is from Smith Center.
The vacancy will mean a fourth state Supreme Court appointment for Kelly, a Democrat, which will occur through a vetting process by a nominating commission made up of five lawyers and four people appointed by the governor. The nominating commission selects three names from a group of applicants to forward to the governor, who selects one appointee. Justices undergo retention votes after their first year on the Supreme Court and every six years after.
“I know from experience the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, and the KBI, will investigate any applicant for my position as thoroughly and vigorously as they investigated me,” Wilson wrote in her letter to Kelly. “And so will you.”
Kansans are set to vote in August 2026 on whether the process ought to change. Republican legislators pushed a resolution through the Legislature earlier this month that will create a ballot question asking voters if justices should be elected by popular vote instead of the merit-based current process.
Chief Justice Marla Luckert, who also served as a district judge in Shawnee County, called Wilson a valued colleague and a “dear friend.”
“My high esteem for her has risen to new heights as I’ve observed her courage facing her health challenges,” Luckert said in a Monday news release. “We will miss her presence on our court, but we understand and support her decision to focus on her health.”
Wilson described the job “as extremely and unrelentingly difficult as it is rewarding.” She said her time on the Supreme Court has been “a rare gift.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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