Topeka ? A Kansas Court of Appeals judge and two Johnson County district judges were nominated Monday to fill a vacancy on the state’s highest court.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has until Aug. 1 to pick among appellate Judge Carol Beier and District Judges Steve Leben and Patrick McAnany for her first appointment to the state Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court Nominating Commission, which screens applications for appellate court positions, forwarded the three names Monday to Sebelius, after having interviewed 24 applicants.

Creating the vacancy is the retirement of Justice Bob Abbott, whose last day on the bench is Friday.

Sebelius hasn’t scheduled interviews with the nominees and is awaiting background checks conducted by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Beier was appointed to the Court of Appeals in February 2000 by then-Gov. Bill Graves, after working as an attorney in private practice for 11 years with the Wichita firm of Foulston-Siefkin. Her law degree is from Kansas University.

Leben also received his law degree from KU, in 1982, after which he began working for the Kansas City area firm of Stinson, Mag & Fizzell. He started his own practice in 1988 and was appointed to the bench in Johnson County in 1993 by then-Gov. Joan Finney.

McAnany has served as a district judge in Johnson County since 1995, when he was appointed by Graves. He is the chief judge for the countywide 10th Judicial District. He received his law degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and then entered private practice, including 22 years at the firm of McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips.