Members of the Fifth Judicial District Nominating Commission today chose Cottonwood Falls Attorney Douglas P. Jones to replace John Conklin as magistrate judge.
Conklin will retire on Dec. 12, after serving 12 years as magistrate.
Jones was one of five people who applied for the vacancy. Other candidates were Emporia City Attorney Laura Lee Miser, Court Services Worker Julie Whitney, Chase County Attorney William North and former Chase County Sheriff Gerald Ingalls.
Interviews for the judgeship were conducted this morning, according to information from the Office of Judicial Administration in Topeka.
Jones graduated in 1997 from Emporia State University and in 2002 from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka. He has been an attorney and managing member of the Rayl & Jones LLC law firm since August 2002. He also has been city attorney for both Strong City and Neosho Rapids.
The Fifth Judicial District consists of Chase and Lyon Counties.
Members of the nominating comnission were Supreme Court Justice Carol A. Beier, non-voting chairperson; Theodore J. Hollembeak, Michael C. Helbert, W. Irving Shaw, Kenneth D. Buchele, and Lloyd Stone, all of Emporia; Charles Rayl and Leigh Ann Crofoot, both of Cottonwood Falls; and Gary D. Sneed of Cedar Point.