Comments sought on judge candidates

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is accepting comments from residents concerning which candidate they think should be named the next Bourbon County District Court judge.

From now until Nov. 22, comments can be submitted to Sebelius' office, and those comments will be considered as factors in her decision, which is expected to be made by Nov. 22, spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said.

Sixth Judicial District Nominating Commission member Larry Nuss said the six-member commission interviewed seven judicial candidates in October and chose three finalists: Fort Scott attorney Mark Ward, Bourbon County District and Magistrate Judge Pro Tem Harry Warren and Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson. All of the nominees live in Bourbon County.

Nuss declined to comment on criteria by which the commission nominated the final three.

Kansas statutes require the judge to be a high school graduate, a resident of the sixth judicial district, and a lawyer in Kansas. Each interviewed candidate completed an application consisting of 24 questions asking about subjects such as his or her current professional legal work and percentage of appearances in federal, state, district and appellate courts in the last five years, among others.

Corcoran and Nuss both declined to provide background information about the nominees.

The candidate names were sent to the governor's office on Oct. 23. Following a background check by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the candidates are expected to be personally interviewed by Sebelius this week, Corcoran said.

The vacant district judge seat has been unoccupied since District Judge Gerald W. Hart retired Oct. 31 to take a full-time teaching position at Fort Scott Community College. Miami County District Judge Amy Harth is filling in until a new judge is named.

Corcoran said comments are "factored in" when the governor makes her decision. However they are balanced with the candidate's experience, background and temperament to be a judge. The decision is also based on criteria with which every judge tries to rule: doing what they think is right and what the law requires, she said.

"The governor takes the input very seriously," Corcoran said. "It's a key local position, and public input is an important part of the selection."

She said if there are concerns about a particular nominee, the governor needs to know about it through the comment section. There have been times when the governor has had many comments, both positive and negative, about a particular candidate.

Some have said a candidate's political views play a role in the governor's decision. However, Corcoran said political affiliations do not factor into the decision.

Bourbon County residents may submit letters, telephone messages, e-mails and faxes to the governor in support of or opposition to a candidate. Letters can be sent to the Office of the Governor, Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., St.. 212S. Topeka, KS 66612-1590. Telephone messages can be submitted to Governor's Office of Constituent Services at (877) KSWORKS; (877) 579-6757, or local number at (785) 296-6240. Faxes can be sent at (785) 368-8788 or toll-free at (877) 579-6757. Comments may be made online at www.governor.ks.gov/comments/comment.htm.