TOPEKA ? With family and friends watching, Eric Rosen took his oath of office today to become the newest member of the Kansas Supreme Court and won’t waste any time getting to work.

Rosen, a Shawnee County district judge since 1993, was named in July by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Robert Gernon.

At 52, he becomes the seventh member of the state’s highest court at a time when some legislators have been criticizing it for being out of touch.

“I want you to know I shall dedicate the remainder of my career honoring my oath to protect the liberties and freedoms guaranteed by our constitution and the laws of our state by steadfastly safeguarding the neutrality of our courts,” Rosen said after taking his oath on a Bible his grandfather had when he fled Russia in the 1890s.