Eight Lawrence and area residents want to be fitted for a black robe.

Friday was the deadline to apply for the new Douglas County judicial seat the state is adding because of an increased caseload. Eight people had applied by the noon cutoff. They are:

• John C. Chappell, Lawrence, Law Office of John C. Chappell.
• Mary Dee Curtis, Lawrence, appellate defenders office.
• Jim George, Lawrence, Law Office of James T. George.
• Peggy Kittel, Lawrence, judge pro tem of Douglas County District Court.
• Timothy G. Riling, Lawrence, Law Office of Timothy G. Riling.
• Stephen Six, Lawrence, Shamberg, Johnson Bergman law office.
• M.J. Willoughby, Lawrence, general counsel for the Office of Judicial Administration.
• Kenneth Warner, Eudora, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

The Seventh Judicial District nominating commission will conduct interviews Dec. 3 to narrow the list to two or three names to be submitted to the governor, who will make the appointment. Interviews will be in the Citizen Review Board conference room at the Douglas County Judicial Center and are open to the public.

The nominating committee includes Justice Robert L. Gernon of the Kansas Supreme Court as the nonvoting chairman, and Suzanne Valdez Carey, John W. Nitcher, Janine A. Cox, Judith W. Anderson of Overbrook, Louie McElhaney and Milton Scott.

The appointee would stand for retention in the November 2006 general election.