photo by: AP File Photo

Justices return from recess during hearings before the Kansas Supreme Court in Topeka, Kan., Thursday, May 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

By the noon deadline on Tuesday, 20 people had applied to fill the Kansas Supreme Court vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Lee Johnson on Sept. 8. These included two Lawrence lawyers, Lumen Mulligan and Keynen Wall.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court Nominating Commission will set interview dates for applicants. After conducting the interviews, which will be open to the public and take place in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, the commission will recommend three people to Gov. Laura Kelly, who will then choose one to fill the vacancy. Nominations must be made within 60 days of the date of vacancy, but can be made earlier. Once the three nominees have been selected, the governor will have an additional 60 days to make her selection.

Mulligan has taught at the University of Kansas since 2010, primarily for KU Law but also teaching undergraduate classes in the KU Honors Program. He also serves on numerous committees, including the Kansas Judicial Council — Civil Rules Advisory Committee and the board of directors for Kansas Legal Services.

Wall is a partner for the Overland Park-based Forbes Law Group, LLC. He served as Deputy General Counsel for Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court from 2013-2015.

The names of other applicants can be found here. Six judges and 14 attorneys applied.