TOPEKA — Gov.-elect Laura Kelly says she will not follow former Gov. Sam Brownback’s method of selecting appellate court judges.
Kelly will need to appoint a new Kansas Court of Appeals judge soon after she takes office in January because Judge Patrick McAnany is retiring.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kelly will have a nonpartisan nominating committee filter the applications and send her a list of three candidates.
That is similar to the procedure used before Brownback changed it to allow him to make judicial appointments directly, subject to Senate confirmation.
Kelly said in a statement Wednesday that she will use the merit-based process similar to that used for Kansas Supreme Court appointments. She said she believes that makes the process more transparent for the public.
