Two Lawrence residents are a step away from getting a seat on the state’s top court.

Judicial officials announced Tuesday that Robert Fairchild and Martha Coffman are two of the three finalists to fill a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court. The opening was created when Justice Robert Gernon, also a Lawrence resident, died of cancer in March.

Both Fairchild, a District Court judge, and Coffman, an advisory counsel to the Kansas Corporation, were announced as finalists Tuesday by a nine-member, statewide Supreme Court nominating commission.

Thirteen people applied for the job. The other finalist is Shawnee County District Judge Eric Rosen.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius now has 60 days to make a decision.

Fairchild, the administrative judge in Douglas County District Court, said he considered the nomination a great honor. But he said he felt he was up for a fight if he got the job.

“The judiciary is under attack, both on a state level and a national level, by individuals, by interest groups and by legislators – not only the judiciary, but the methods by which judges are selected,” he said. “I think you need to be prepared to speak out and to defend the system, and be prepared to be attacked.”

Coffman, who practiced law in Lawrence in the 1980s, said she also was honored and excited about her nomination. Supreme Court nominees should expect politicians and the public to take a good look at them, Coffman said.

“In today’s world you need to be aware that people are very concerned about the Supreme Court and all of the courts,” she said.

The state Supreme Court butted heads with lawmakers in recent months by declaring the state’s death-penalty law unconstitutional and by ordering them to fix the state’s system for funding schools.

Lawmakers are now considering changes to the way Supreme Court justices are selected – either by making them subject to Senate confirmation or by requiring them to be elected.