Governor Laura Kelly has announced her choice for the next Kansas Supreme Court Justice.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Governor Kelly officially announced Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Melissa Taylor Standridge as her selection to replace Carol Beier who is set to retire after serving 17 years on the bench.
Standridge was one of three nominees for the position which also included 12th Judicial District Judge Kim Cudney and Emporia native, and daughter of Lyon County District Court Administrative Judge Merlin Wheeler, Kristen Wheeler.
KVOE has reached out to Wheeler for comment on the governor’s decision.
Wheeler is a 1999 graduate of Emporia High School and graduated from the University of Kansas before moving on to Washburn School of Law where she obtained her law degree in 2006. She served in private practice with Robinson Law Firm and also Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock and Kennedy. She has also been the law clerk for US District Judge Thomas Marten.
Standridge, a 1984 graduate of the University of Kansas, obtained her law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Prior to serving on the Kansas Court of Appeals, a position she has held since 2008, Standridge served as chambers counsel to U.S. District Magistrate Judge David Waxse from 1999 to 2008.
