Federal officials on Friday announced the selection of Topeka attorney Gary Sebelius to an eight-year term as U.S. magistrate judge.

Sebelius, 52, is the son of former U.S. Rep. Keith Sebelius, R-Kan. He is married to Kathleen Sebelius, state insurance commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

“The court could not have found a more eminently qualified and respected lawyer for the position,” said U.S. District Judge John W. Lungstrum.

Originally from Norton, Sebelius graduated magna cum laude from Kansas State University in 1971. He earned his law degree in 1974 at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Sebelius has been a partner at Wright, Henson, Somers, Sebelius, Clark & Baker, a Topeka law firm, since 1993. He is a past president of Kansas Legal Services and the Kansas Bar Assn.’s employment law section.

President Clinton nominated Sebelius, a Democrat, for a position on the federal bench in June 2000. The U.S. Senate allowed that nomination to lapse.

Magistrate judges are hired  rather than appointed  for eight-year terms. They are eligible to be selected for a second term.

U.S. District Court judges are appointed. Their terms are not limited.

As magistrate judge, Sebelius is expected to preside over pretrial scheduling and civil case procedures. He’ll also oversee mediations.

With both plaintiff’s and defendant’s consent, he will preside in civil cases. He will be stationed in Topeka.

If his wife is elected governor, Sebelius said he would recuse himself from any case involving the state.

“Fortunately, that doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “But when it does, I’ll swap out with another magistrate.”

As magistrate judge, Sebelius will be paid $139,000 annually.