Democratic governor marks fifth appointment to state’s highest court
TOPEKA — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly filled a vacancy Monday on the Kansas Supreme Court by selecting a Johnson County District Court judge who has focused on a civil case docket after a 20-year career in private practice.
The governor selected Chris Jayaram of Lenexa from among three finalists for the Supreme Court put forward by a nominating commission. Jayaram was placed on the district court bench in 2021 by Kelly.
“Kansans deserve justices who possess unquestioned integrity, deep legal knowledge, sound judgment and unwavering commitment to applying the law fairly and impartially,” Kelly said. “Kansans deserve justices who approach every case without fear or favor. Kansans deserve justices who follow the law, not politics, public opinion or personal preference.”
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In 2025, Jayaram was a finalist for a Supreme Court opening that Kelly awarded to Leawoodattorney Larkin Walsh. Jayaram earned his law degree in 1997 at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas.
Jayaram is the trial judge in an unresolved lawsuit brought by abortion providers who challenged state regulations imposed on clinics. That case has been viewed in the context of a state Supreme Court decision in 2019 that declared the state’s Bill of Rights included provisions that guaranteed women the right to end a pregnancy.
“I look forward to completing my work at the district court over the coming days and joining my new colleagues at the Supreme Court thereafter,” Jayaram said. “As I did at the district court, I pledge to serve all Kansans in this new role through the fair, just and impartial application of the law to cases that come before the Supreme Court.”
Brittany Jones, president of the “Christ-centered” lobbying organization Kansas Family Voice, said selection of Jayaram highlighted how the system of determining who sereved on the Supreme Court was flawed. She said in a statement Jayaram had issued court rulings filtered through “political bias and not on the law” and had taken judicial actions in conflict with “basic rules of civil procedure.”
The governor chose Jayaram from a list of finalists that included Johnson County District Judge Robert Wonnell of Olathe, who was a 2015 district court appointee of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, and Douglas County District Judge Carl Folsom of Lawrence. Kelly had nominated Folsom twice for the Kansas Court of Appeals but was blocked by the Kansas Senate.
The vacancy to be filled by Jayaram on the Supreme Court occurred through the retirement of Chief Justice Marla Luckert, who served on the seven-justice high court for 23 years.
It would be Kelly’s last such appointment to the Supreme Court before Kansas voters decide in the Aug. 4 primary whether to approve a Republican-backed amendment to the Kansas Constitution mandating Supreme Court justices be chosen through direct statewide elections rather than the merit-selection process.
The appointment was Kelly’s fifth to the Supreme Court since she was sworn into office as governor in 2019. Last year, Kelly appointed Walsh to replace Justice Evelyn Wilson. Wilson joined the Supreme Court in 2020, but retired due to health issues. Kelly also appointed Justices Melissa Standridge and K.J. Wall in 2020. That led to the retirement of Luckert, also because of health considerations.
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: [email protected]. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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