TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A trial judge from east-central Kansas has been appointed to the state Sentencing Commission by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss.
Judge W. Lee Fowler has served since 1997 in the 5th Judicial District, handling cases in Lyon and Chase counties.
He’s one of two judges appointed to the sentencing commission by the chief justice and will replace Judge Richard Smith, of Linn County.
The Kansas Sentencing Commission has 17 members drawn from all three branches of government. The commission evaluates the effects of sentencing practices on corrections resources and prison populations and recommends changes in laws to the Legislature.
Fowler’s appointment was announced Thursday. Nuss noted that Fowler has been both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer and established a drug court in Emporia in 2004.