The 3rd Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet in a little more than two weeks to pick a replacement for Judge Franklin Theis, who retired last week after 42 years on the bench.
The commission will consider these candidate to replace Theis in the 3rd District, which covers Shawnee County:
- Jay Befort, Topeka, deputy general counsel, Kansas Department of Revenue.
- Kevin Cook, Topeka, private practice, Cook Law Office.
- Jessica Domme, Tecumseh, assistant attorney general, Kansas attorney general’s office.
- Lori Dougherty-Bichsel, Silver Lake, administrative judge and department director, Topeka Municipal Court.
- Sarah Loquist-Berry, Topeka, general counsel, Sedgwick County Area Educational Services Interlocal Cooperative.
- Penny Moylan, Topeka, deputy disciplinary administrator, Kansas judicial branch.
- Rachel Pickering, Topeka, assistant solicitor general, Kansas attorney general’s office.
- Amy Raymond, Topeka, director of trial court programs, Office of Judicial Administration, Kansas judicial branch.
- Steven Roth, Topeka, administrative law judge, Kansas Department of Labor, Workers Compensation Division.
- Jennifer Martin Smith, Topeka, private practice, Alderson, Alderson, Conklin, Crow & Slinkard.
- Todd Thornburg, Topeka, staff attorney and special assistant attorney general, Kansas Department of Labor.
- Kelly Trussell, Topeka, private practice, Sloan, Eisenbarth, Glassman, McEntire & Jarboe
- John Paul Washburn, Tecumseh, private practice, Washburn Law Office.
- Brett Watson, Topeka, deputy district attorney, Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office.
The commission will select from three to five nominees whose names will be submitted to the governor to fill the position.
The nominating Commission is led by Supreme Court Justice Marla Luckert as the nonvoting chair.
It also includes Toby McCullough of Rossville; and Terry Beck, Daniel Crow, Thomas Lemon, Randall Phillips, and Eric Stafford, all of Topeka.
