Douglas County District Judge Carl Folsom was selected Thursday as one of three nominees the governor will consider to fill a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court.
Folsom, of Lawrence, is an alum of KU and KU Law. He was sworn into his position in December 2022. He handles domestic cases and misdemeanors in his division.
“He previously was an assistant federal public defender for both the Federal Public Defender Offices for the District of Kansas and for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma, a partner with the Bell Folsom law firm, and appellate defender with the Kansas Appellate Defender’s Office,” according to a Thursday news release from the Kansas Judicial Branch.
K. Christopher Jayaram, a district judge from Lenexa, and Robert Wonnell, a district judge from Olathe, are the other two nominees who advanced.
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Gov. Laura Kelly will have 60 days to decide which of the three nominees she will appoint once she receives the nominations. The Supreme Court vacancy was created when Justice Marla Luckert retired in March.
Another current Douglas County District Court judge, Amy Hanley, and a Lawrence attorney, Meryl Carver-Allmond, also applied for the vacancy. Other applicants were Molly McMurray Gordon, a Wichita attorney, and Kristen Diane Wheeler, a Wichita attorney.
“Justices are appointed to the Supreme Court through a merit-based nomination process that Kansans voted to add to the Kansas Constitution in 1958,” according to the release. “The process involves the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, which reviews nominees, and the governor, who makes the appointment.”
Nominating commission members are Terrence Campbell, chair, and Diane Oakes, of Lawrence; Robert Frederick, of Lakin; Jennifer M. Cocking, of Emporia; Frances Gorman Graves, of Bartlett; Katie McClaflin, of Overland Park; Carol Marinovich, of Kansas City; and Rachael Pirner and Ebony Clemons, of Wichita.
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.
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Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
