Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin will sit with the Kansas Supreme Court next week to hear oral arguments in four appeals, according to the state’s Office of Judicial Administration.

The justices appointed Martin, who has served as a judge for 18 years, to replace Justice Nancy L. Moritz. Moritz recused herself from hearing the cases because she was a Kansas Court of Appeals judge when those cases were decided at that level.

Martin will hear arguments Feb. 9 in four criminal appeals and then participate in deliberations and drafting of opinions. Martin handles criminal and civil cases in Douglas County and was appointed to the bench by Gov. Joan Finney in 1994.

Three other Douglas County judges — Michael Malone and Robert Fairchild and now-retired Jean Shepherd — also sat with the Kansas Supreme Court temporarily in late 2010 and early 2011.