photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured on Sept. 4, 2024.

The names of nine nominees to replace retired Judge Sally Pokorny as a Douglas County District Court judge were announced Friday afternoon.

Pokorny, who presided over Division 2 and primarily heard felony criminal cases, retired on April 10 after 17 years on the bench.

The 7th Judicial District Nominating Commission will convene at 2 p.m. Monday to discuss the interview schedule for the nominees. That meeting is open to the public and will take place at Stevens and Brand LLP in the U.S. Bank Tower, 900 Massachusetts St., Suite 500.

The nominees are as follows:

• Meryl Carver-Allmond, Lawrence, general counsel to chief justice, Kansas Supreme Court.

• Blake Glover, Baldwin City, judge pro tem, Douglas County District Court.

• Tonda Hill, Lawrence, deputy county attorney, Mohave County Attorney’s Office, Kingman, Arizona.

• Paul Klepper, Lawrence, judge pro tem, Douglas County District Court.

• Brandelyn Nichols, Lawrence, chief hearing officer, Kansas Department of Revenue.

• Jonathon Noble, Lawrence, chief public defender, Northeast Kansas Conflicts Public Defender Office.

• Shon Qualseth, Lawrence, chief counsel, Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

• Bethany Roberts, Lawrence, attorney, Barber Emerson L.C.

• Krystal Vokins, Lawrence, assistant training director, Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services.

The nominating commission will interview the nominees, then select three to five people whose names will be submitted to Gov. Laura Kelly to fill the position according to statutory qualification and residency requirements. Kelly will have 60 days after receiving the finalists’ names to make her selection.

The 7th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Chief Justice Eric S. Rosen as the nonvoting chair, Elina Alterman, Charles Branson, Elizabeth Cateforis, Stephanie Davis, Shaye Downing, Katy Fitzgerald, Patricia Kuester, Grace MacMillan, Wesley Smith and Daniel Watkins, all of Lawrence.