AG Schmidt asking Supreme Court to decide if Kelly can nominate new judge

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking the state Supreme Court to decide whether Governor Laura Kelly can nominate a new judge to the state Court of Appeals.

Schmidt filed a petition Monday with the Supreme Court for a ruling on whether Kelly nominates the new judge or whether the nomination must be made by Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss.

Kelly withdrew her first choice of Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack last month because of political posts on Jack’s Twitter feed in 2017.

The governor is moving ahead to nominate another candidate for confirmation by the Kansas Senate.

Senate President Susan Wagle says because Kelly withdrew Jack’s nomination, she missed a deadline for making the nomination and it now falls to Nuss under a 2013 law.

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