A commission has advanced three names for the governor to consider to fill a district judge vacancy in Douglas County, according to an announcement from the Kansas Judicial Branch.
The Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission has advanced Blake Glover, of Baldwin City, a judge pro tem in Douglas County District Court; Paul Klepper, of Lawrence, a judge pro tem in Douglas County District Court; and Krystal Vokins, of Lawrence, assistant training director for the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services.
Gov. Laura Kelly will now have 60 days to select the appointee.
Then, “After serving one year in office, a new judge must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position,” according to the announcement. “If retained, the incumbent will serve a four-year term.”
The vacancy was created by Judge Sally Pokorny’s retirement in April.
The other six nominees were Meryl Carver-Allmond, Tonda Hill, Brandelyn Nichols, Jonathon Noble, Shon Qualseth and Bethany Roberts.
The nominating commission includes lawyers Elizabeth Cateforis, Wesley Smith, Daniel Watkins, Shaye Downing and Charles Branson, as well as non-lawyers Elina Alterman, Stephanie Davis, C. Grace MacMillan, Patricia Kuester and Katy Fitzgerald. The nonvoting chair is Kansas Supreme Court Justice Eric Rosen.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
If you have news tips, questions, comments, concerns, compliments or corrections for our team, please reach out and let us know what’s on your mind. Email us at [email protected] (don’t forget the KS!), or find more contact info and a quick contact form at LawrenceKSTimes.com/contact.
Follow us so you won’t miss the local news that matters most to you:
Latest Lawrence news:
Logan Pierson / Lawrence Times
