Judge Fairchild again seeks seat on Kansas Supreme Court

? Douglas County District Court Judge Robert Fairchild has again applied for a position on the Kansas Supreme Court.

Fairchild was one of eight people who applied by noon Friday to fill the vacancy that will be created by the Jan. 12 retirement of Chief Justice Kay McFarland.

The other applicants include Karen Arnold-Burger, Overland Park Municipal Court judge; Christopher E. Biggs, State Securities Commissioner; W. Daniel Biles, a Shawnee attorney; Dennis D. Depew, a Neodesha attorney; Court of Appeals Judge Steve A. Leben; Ward E. Loyd, a Garden City attorney; and Court of Appeals Judge Thomas E. Malone.

Interviews by a nominating commission to narrow the applicant list to three nominees are scheduled Nov. 17 and 18. The names of the nominees will be submitted to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for appointment.

Fairchild has been a finalist for the state Supreme Court twice before.

In 2005, Sebelius selected Eric Rosen, then a Topeka judge, over Fairchild, and in 2007 she selected Lee Johnson.

McFarland is retiring at the end of her current six-year-term on the court, where she has been a member since 1977. The new member of the court will serve as a justice, and Robert E. Davis will become chief justice as the next most senior member.