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21st Judicial District Nominating Commission to interview nominees for district magistrate judge vacancy

By Payton Tholstrup

According to a press release from the Kansas Judicial Branch, The 21st Judicial District Nominating Commission will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 18th to interview nominees to fill a district magistrate judge vacancy in Clay County. The position became vacant after District Magistrate Judge William “Bill” Malcom passed away on October 15th, 2023.

The 21st Judicial District is composed of both Clay County and Riley County.

Nominees for the position include the following:

Daniel Brenner, Holton, owner-operator, Diamonds By Design, Inc.

John McNish, Marysville, private practice, Bolton & McNish LLC.

Audrey Waid, Clay Center, executive director, Clay County Childcare Center, Inc.

Interviews are open to the public and will take place at the Clay County Courthouse, located at 712 5th Street in Clay Center, KS.

The interview schedule will be announced when it is final; the commission selects who is appointed to fill the vacancy.

Eligibility requirements (according to Kansas law) say that a district magistrate judge must be:

A resident of Clay County at the time of taking office and while holding office.
a graduate of a high school, secondary school, or the equivalent.
either a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas or able to pass an exam given by the Supreme Court to become certified within 18 months.

After serving one year in office, the new magistrate judge must stand for a retention vote in the next general election in order to remain in that position. If retained, they will serve a four-year term.

The 21st Judicial Nominating Commission consists of the following; Justice Caleb Stegall as the nonvoting chair Kyle Bauer and Steven McMahan of Clay Center; William Bahr, Johanna Lyle, Jeremiah Platt, Derrick Roberson, and Kitra Schartz of Manhattan; and Steven Hargrave of Randolph.

Any person with a disability who requires accommodations to access the meeting should notify the judicial branch ADA coordinator as early as possible, preferably at least 10 working days before the day of the meeting.