KU Law News
KU Law News
Aug. 12, 2009
Alumna elected chair of Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission
A 1981 graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law has been elected chair of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission.
Anne Burke began her four-year term July 1 after a close run-off election. She is the seventh person and the first woman to chair the commission in its more than 50-year history.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be elected to this position,” Burke said. “I am a third-generation Kansas lawyer who cares deeply about our profession and the quality and independence of our judiciary.”
The commission is a nine-member board responsible for recommending qualified individuals for appointment to the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals. Four members are non-attorneys appointed by the Kansas governor; four others are attorneys selected by attorneys in each of the state’s four congressional districts. The chair is always a lawyer elected by practicing attorneys in a statewide vote.
The commission conducts background checks on the candidates, evaluates each candidate’s qualifications and interviews each applicant. Once the applicants have been evaluated, the commission selects the three most qualified to be nominated to the governor, who appoints one of those three to the appellate bench within 60 days.
“The work of the commission is hard and time-consuming,” Burke said. “Additionally, the selection process can be hard because the quality of the applicants is frequently very high and selecting only three names can be difficult.”
Burke, an attorney at Manson & Karbank in Overland Park, is a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America since 1995. She is a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America and a frequent speaker and writer in the area of divorce law.