photo by: Contributed

Judge Chris Kopecky

A new Municipal Court judge will soon take the bench in Lawrence, the city announced Wednesday in a news release.

The city selected Judge Chris Kopecky following a competitive national search. Kopecky has served as a temporary judge in many of the municipal courts in the area, including Lawrence, since 2019. The last few years he has been a permanent part-time pro-tem judge for the cities of Olathe and Overland Park.

“I very much look forward to serving the citizens of Lawrence as the new Municipal Court Judge,” Kopecky said in the release. “Filling in here over the last few years has been a real honor and a fantastic experience. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming and I am confident we can do some great things in the court.”

In addition to his judicial experience, Kopecky has more than 25 years of legal experience, including as a criminal defense attorney and as the founder/owner of a law firm focusing on municipal court and traffic cases. He has also served as a law professor at universities in the Kansas City metro area, including University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and Rockhurst University, according to the release.

“Our selection committee immediately recognized the passion Judge Kopecky brings to municipal court,” said City Manager Craig Owens in the release. “His personal approach to each person who appears before him and his ideas for further improving and modernizing court operations for their benefit was important to the committee. With his experience and his passion for helping people and serving the community, we strongly believe we found a really great fit for today and tomorrow in Lawrence Municipal Court.”

Kopecky will begin as Municipal Court judge on Oct. 24.