Topeka ? Two days of public interviews are scheduled for applicants for a seat on the Kansas Court of Appeals.

The Supreme Court Nominating Commission has scheduled 20- to 30-minute interviews with each applicant Feb. 17-18 in Topeka. The commission will forward the names of finalists to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who will make the appointment.

The vacancy was created when Court of Appeals Judge Nancy Moritz Caplinger (KAP’-ling-ur) was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court in November by then-Gov. Mark Parkinson.

The commission is opening the interviews to the public for the first time in an effort to make the selection process more transparent. But the commission will not take questions about the applicants from the public.