Judge Amy Hanley, left, and Judge Stacey Donovan.

Two Douglas County District Court judges are on this year’s ballot for a retention vote.

Judge Amy Hanley and Judge Stacey Donovan, both of Lawrence, handle felony criminal cases, and each presides over a specialty court. Hanley runs the Veterans Treatment Court, and Donovan runs the Behavioral Health Court. Both judges have also taught courses for several years at area law schools — Hanley at Washburn University and Donovan at the University of Kansas.

Hanley was appointed to the bench in 2016 by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. Prior to that, she was a career prosecutor. She served for seven years as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Litigation Division, where she was lead prosecutor for homicide and major crimes. She also worked for seven years in the Saline County Attorney’s Office.

Hanley earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Kansas State University in 1998 and her law degree from Drake University Law School in 2001.

Donovan was appointed to the bench in 2020 by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. Prior to that she was a career public defender. She was the chief public defender in Shawnee County for nine years, and before that she had worked as an assistant public defender since 1997.

Donovan earned undergraduate degrees in African-American Studies and English Literature from Simmons University in 1992 and graduated from the KU School of Law in 1997.

District judges in Kansas come up for a retention vote every four years. A “Yes” vote on the ballot means you want the judge to remain on the court. A “No” vote means you want the judge removed.

Voters will also see a number of higher court judges on the ballot this year, including Kansas Supreme Court Justices Eric Rosen and Larkin Walsh, and Kansas Court of Appeals Justices Lesley Ann Isherwood, Amy Fellows Cline, Kim Schroeder, Lori Ann Bolton Fleming and Jacy Hurst.