Topeka ? Shawnee County has its first black district court judge.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius named Joseph Johnson, 53, a longtime Topeka attorney, to the bench.

Johnson replaces Eric Rosen, appointed by Sebelius earlier this year to the Kansas Supreme Court. Rosen joined the high court last month.

After Sebelius announced his appointment Wednesday, Johnson said: “I feel like I bring something to the bench that we’ve not had. Part of that is diversity.”

As an attorney, Johnson has handled medical malpractice, small-business, probate, domestic relations and criminal defense cases.

He is a 1975 graduate of the Kansas University law school. He served as an assistant public defender for three years before starting his own practice.