Two current Douglas County District Court judges and a Lawrence attorney have applied for a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court.
Meryl Carver-Allmond, of Lawrence, is a KU Law alum. She is currently general counsel to Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric S. Rosen, and she previously served in that position for now-retired Justice Marla Luckert. She was previously a finalist for a position on the Kansas Court of Appeals.
Douglas County District Judge Amy Hanley, an alum of K-State and Drake University School of Law, has been a district judge since 2016. She also presides over the new Veterans Treatment Court. She was one of three finalists selected from 15 applicants in pursuit of the Supreme Court vacancy created when Justice Evelyn Wilson resigned in July.
Douglas County District Judge Carl Folsom III, an alum of KU and KU Law, was sworn in in December 2022. He handles domestic cases and misdemeanors in his division. Prior to his appointment, he was an assistant federal public defender for the District of Kansas.
Other applicants are Molly McMurray Gordon, a Wichita attorney; Krishnan Christopher Jayaram, a district judge from Lenexa; Kristen Diane Wheeler, a Wichita attorney; and Robert James Wonnell, a district judge from Olathe.
The Supreme Court Nominating Commission will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, to finalize interview dates and procedural matters. The meeting will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@KansasJudicialBranch/streams.
Interviews with the commission are public.
“Four of the commission’s members are appointed by the governor representing each of the state’s congressional districts. These appointees are not attorneys. Four other members are attorneys elected by attorneys within their congressional district. The commission chair is an attorney elected by attorneys in a statewide vote,” according to a Friday news release from the Kansas Judicial Branch.
“Commission members are: Terrence Campbell, chair, and Diane Oakes, Lawrence; Robert Frederick, Lakin; Jennifer M. Cocking, Emporia; Frances Gorman Graves, Bartlett; Katie McClaflin, Overland Park; Carol Marinovich, Kansas City; and Rachael Pirner and Ebony Clemons, Wichita,” according to the release.
Justices face retention votes in the first general election after they have served one year on the Kansas Supreme Court. If they are retained, they serve a six-year term before facing another retention election.
Note: This post has been backdated for publication here. It was originally published on a temporary website at the provided publication time while this website was down.
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Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
