TOPEKA—The 9th Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, July 21, to interview nominees to fill a new district judge position. 
  
The district judge post in the 9th Judicial District was among several certified by Supreme Court Administrative Order 2022-JA-020 after the Kansas Legislature passed and the governor signed 2022 House Substitute for Substitute for Senate Bill No. 267 to fund them.   
The 9th Judicial District is composed of Harvey and McPherson counties. 
 
Public interviews   
 
Interviews are open to the public. They will take place at: 
  
Harvey County Courthouse 
Community Room 
800 Main St. 
Newton, KS 
  
The interview schedule will be announced once it’s finalized.   
 
The nominees: 

• Michael Llamas, Newton, self-employed with Llamas Law, LLC; city prosecutor in Hesston; and municipal court judge in Burrton, Florence, and Walton
   

• Diane Sorensen, Newton, attorney and shareholder, Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Chtd.  
   

• Matthew Treaster, Newton, assistant United States attorney, US Attorney’s Office 
   

• Gary Price Jr., McPherson, attorney and shareholder, Boyer & Price Law Office P.A.; and municipal court judge in Canton, Lindsborg, McPherson, and Moundridge 

 
The nominating commission will convene by videoconference at noon Tuesday, July 12, to review nominations.   
The meeting is open to the public. It will take place via videoconference and will be livestreamed on the Kansas judicial branch YouTube channel. 
 
To comment: 

 
ADA accommodation   
 
Any person with a disability who requires accommodation to access the nominating commission meeting should notify the judicial branch ADA coordinator as early as possible:   
 
ADA Coordinator   
ADA@kscourts.org 
785-296-2256   
TTY at 711   
 
Eligibility requirements  
 
A nominee for district judge must be:  

• at least 30 years old; 
   

• a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas and engaged in the practice of law for at least five years, whether as a lawyer, judge, or full-time teacher at an accredited law school; and  
   

• a resident of the 9th Judicial District at the time of taking office and while holding office.  

Nominees to governor  
 
The nominating commission will interview nominees and then select from three to five people for each vacancy whose names will be submitted to the governor to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. The governor has 60 days after receiving the names to decide whom to appoint.  
 
Term of office  
 
After serving one year in office, the new judge must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position. If retained, the incumbent will serve a four-year term.  
 
Nominating commission   
 
The 9th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice Melissa Standridge as the nonvoting chair; Thomas Adrian, George “Chip” Westfall, Jana McKinney, and John Robb, all of Newton; and David O’Dell, Brian Bina, Glenn Snell, and Ann Elliott, all of McPherson.