TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback has appointed Shawnee County’s elections commissioner to a magistrate judgeship in northeast Kansas previously held by her husband.
Brownback named Elizabeth Ensley Deiter to the bench in the 22nd Judicial District, which covers Brown, Doniphan, Marshall, and Nemaha counties. Her husband, Steve, stepped down from the job in June.
Magistrate judges do not have to be attorneys. They can handle misdemeanor criminal cases and first appearances and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases, as well as traffic infractions, juvenile cases and limited civil cases. They also can perform marriages.
Elizabeth Ensley Deiter has served as Shawnee County’s top elections official since 1992. Secretary of State Kris Kobach will choose Deiter’s replacement in the elections job.
