TOPEKA—The 11th Judicial District Nominating Commission has selected Joe Gordon Gregory to fill a magistrate judge position in Crawford County.  

Gregory’s new position will be effective on his swearing-in. He currently is an attorney at Wilbert and Towner P.A., and a municipal judge for Frontenac City Court.  

The 11th Judicial District is composed of Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette counties.  

The position was among several certified by Supreme Court Administrative Order 2022-JA-020 after the Kansas Legislature passed and the governor signed 2022 House Substitute for Substitute for Senate Bill No. 267 to fund them.  
 
District magistrate judge appointment process  
 
To be considered for district magistrate judge, a nominee must be:  

• a resident of Crawford County at the time of taking office and while holding office;  

• a graduate of a high school, a secondary school, or the equivalent; and  

• either a lawyer admitted to practice in Kansas or able to pass an examination to become certified within 18 months.  

 
The nominating commission selects whom to appoint to fill magistrate judge positions.  

Term of office

After serving one year in office, the new magistrate judge must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position. If retained, the incumbent will serve a four-year term.  
 
Nominating commission 
 
The 11th Judicial District Nominating Commission consists of Justice Evelyn Wilson as the nonvoting chair; Sara Beezley, Pittsburg; James Cook and William Shane Adamson, Parsons; John Lehman, Girard; Oliver Kent Lynch, Baxter Springs; and Angela Rippel, Scammon.