Kansas Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2026)
| Kansas Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Luckert vacancy |
| Date: March 28, 2026 |
| Status: Retirement scheduled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: To be determined |
| Date: To be determined |
Kansas Supreme Court Justice Marla Luckert is retiring on March 28, 2026. Luckert's replacement will be Governor Kelly's (D) fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.
In Kansas, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a bar-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the state Bar Association. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention.[1]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Kansas Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2026.
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Kansas
In Kansas, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a bar-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the state Bar Association. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Kansas Supreme Court
Justices
Following Luckert's retirement, the Kansas Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Daniel Biles | Appointed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) in 2009 | |
| ■ Eric Rosen | Appointed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) in 2005 | |
| ■ Melissa Standridge | Appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Caleb Stegall | Appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in 2014 | |
| ■ Keynen Wall | Appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Larkin Walsh | Appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D) in 2025 |
About the court
Founded in 1861, the Kansas Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Eric Rosen. [2]
As of September 2025, five judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and two judges were appointed by a Republican governor.
The Kansas Supreme Court meets in the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, Kansas.[3]
In Kansas, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a bar-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the state Bar Association. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Luckert
- See also: Marla Luckert
Luckert received her B.A., magna cum laude, in history from Washburn University in 1977 and her J.D. from Washburn University School of Law in 1980. She also completed the General Jurisdiction Program at the National Judicial College in 1992. Luckert completed the Appellate Judges Program at New York University School of Law's Institute of Judicial Administration.[4]
Luckert was an attorney at Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds and Palmer and worked as an adjust professor at Washburn University. She then became a judge of the Third Judicial District, where she served from 1992 to 2003. She was then appointed to the state supreme court.[4]
Luckert previously served as president of the Kansas Bar Association, the Kansas District Judges Association, and the Kansas Women Attorneys Association. She was also a board member and president of several organizations.[4]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2026
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2026
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2026. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2025.
| 2026 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kansas Judicial Branch, "Kansas Supreme Court," accessed June 21, 2021
- ↑ Kansas Judicial Branch, "Justice Eric Rosen to take oath of office," accessed January 6, 2026
- ↑ Kansas Judicial Branch, "Visit the Judicial Center," accessed Sept. 25, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kansas Judicial Branch, "Honorable Marla J. Luckert," accessed August 5, 2016
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Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Kansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Kansas
State courts:
Kansas Supreme Court • Kansas Court of Appeals • Kansas District Courts • Kansas Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Kansas • Kansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kansas
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- ↑ Note: As of March 2026, Justice Few has not announced his official retirement date.
