Thirteen Lawrence attorneys have applied to try to replace Douglas County District Judge Jean F. Shepherd, who has announced she will retire in January at the end of her term.

The deadline to apply was noon Friday.

According to the state’s Office of Judicial Administration, the applicants are Daniel D. Peebles, James T. George, Jeffrey S. Southard, Kenneth P. Kula, Randall F. Larkin, Angela M. Wilson, James R. McCabria, Barbara Kay Huff, Kathryn D. Myers, Christopher N. Behre, Brian Dempsey, Darian Dernovish, and Daniel Dunbar, all of Lawrence.

Huff, a defense attorney, was a finalist in 2008 when then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius appointed Sally Pokorny to replace retiring Judge Jack Murphy. George has also been a finalist for a district judge position before. He is the county’s current pro-tem judge to help handle criminal first appearances and traffic, small claims and juvenile cases.

Wilson is a current deputy Kansas attorney general and former assistant Douglas County district attorney. McCabria is a current assistant Douglas County district attorney.

The district’s judicial nominating commission will convene Nov. 8 at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., to interview the applicants.

The commission will send two or three names to Gov. Mark Parkinson, who will have 30 days to make an appointment. Commission members include Kansas Supreme Court Justice Eric S. Rosen, as the nonvoting chairman, Loren C. Anderson, of Baldwin City, and Charles A. Briscoe, Janine A. Cox, Charles R. Epp, John W. Nitcher and Terry L. Smith, all of Lawrence.

Shepherd was appointed in 1984 and primarily handles family law and juvenile cases. Chief Judge Robert Fairchild said the district’s judges will see whom the governor appoints before deciding how to assign the family law case load.