| TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court has reappointed 28 chief judges for terms that begin January 1, 2026, and end December 31, 2027.
1st Judicial District
Chief Judge Joan Lowdon was reappointed in the 1st Judicial District, which is composed of Atchison and Leavenworth counties. She has served as a district judge since 2020 and chief judge since January 2023.
Lowdon graduated from Kansas State University and the University of Kansas School of Law. Before she was appointed district judge, she worked at the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office, first as an assistant county attorney and later as deputy county attorney.
2nd Judicial District
Chief Judge Jeffrey Elder was reappointed in the 2nd Judicial District, which is composed of Jefferson, Jackson, Wabaunsee, and Pottawatomie counties. He has served as a district judge since 2008 and chief judge since 2020.
Elder graduated from the University of Kansas and the University of Kansas School of Law. He served as county attorney for Pottawatomie County from 1989 to 2001 and was in private practice before he became a judge.
3rd Judicial District
Chief Judge Steven Ebberts was reappointed in the 3rd Judicial District, which is Shawnee County. He has served as a district judge since 2011 and chief judge since 2021.
Ebberts graduated from Washburn University and Washburn University School of Law. He worked as the municipal court administrative judge and associate judge for the City of Topeka for more than eight years before he was appointed district judge.
4th Judicial District
Chief Judge Taylor Wine was reappointed in the 4th Judicial District, which is composed of Anderson, Coffey, Franklin, and Osage counties. He has served as a district judge since 2018 and chief judge since 2019.
Wine graduated from Pittsburg State University and Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. He was in private practice before he was appointed district magistrate judge and later district judge.
5th Judicial District
Chief Judge Jeffry Larson was reappointed in the 5th Judicial District, which is composed of Chase and Lyon counties. He has served as a district judge since 2007 and a chief judge since August 2022.
Larson graduated from Emporia State University and Washburn University School of Law. He was in private practice in Emporia for 20 years before being appointed district judge.
6th Judicial District
Chief Judge Amy Harth was reappointed in the 6th Judicial District, which is composed of Bourbon, Linn, and Miami counties. She has served as a district judge since 2004 and chief judge since 2015.
Harth graduated from Washburn University School of Law. She worked as a prosecutor in Miami County and as a public defender before she was appointed judge.
8th Judicial District
Chief Judge Benjamin Sexton was reappointed in the 8th Judicial District, which is composed of Geary, Dickinson, Marion, and Morris counties. He has served as a district judge since 2001 and chief judge since August 2021.
Sexton graduated from Kansas State University and Washburn University School of Law. He worked as a prosecutor and in private practice before he was appointed district judge.
11th Judicial District
Chief Judge Kurtis Loy was reappointed in the 11th Judicial District, which is composed of Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette counties. He has served as a district judge since 2013 and chief judge since 2025.
Loy graduated from Pittsburg State University and Washburn University School of Law. After graduation he was in private practice.
12th Judicial District
Chief Judge Kim Cudney was reappointed in the 12th Judicial District, which is composed of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic, and Washington counties. She has served as district judge and chief judge since 2006.
Cudney graduated from Kansas State University and Washburn University School of Law. She served as a research attorney for the Kansas Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court. She had a private law practice in Washington, Kansas, where she also served as county attorney.
13th Judicial District
Chief Judge David Ricke was reappointed in the 13th Judicial District, which is composed of Butler, Greenwood, and Elk counties. He has served as a district judge since 2004 and chief judge since 2012.
Ricke graduated from Wichita State University and the University of Kansas School of Law.
14th Judicial District
Chief Judge Jeffrey Gettler was reappointed in the 14th Judicial District, which is composed of Chautauqua and Montgomery counties. He has served as a district judge since 2015 and chief judge since 2018.
Gettler graduated from Independence Community College, Loyola University Chicago, and the University of Kansas School of Law. He was in private practice, served as city prosecutor for the City of Independence, city attorney for the City of Cherryvale, and attorney for Unified School Districts 446 and 447.
15th Judicial District
Chief Judge Kevin Berens was reappointed in the 15th Judicial District, which is composed of Cheyenne, Logan, Sheridan, Sherman, Rawlins, Thomas, and Wallace counties. He has served as district judge and chief judge since 2017.
Berens graduated from Fort Hays State University and Washburn University School of Law. He previously served as county attorney in Thomas and Cheyenne counties and city attorney for Bird City. He also practiced law in Kansas and Colorado.
16th Judicial District
Chief Judge Laura Lewis was reappointed in the 16th Judicial District, which is composed of Clark, Comanche, Ford, Gray, Kiowa, and Meade counties. She has served as a district judge since 2019 and chief judge since 2020.
Lewis graduated from Dodge City Community College, Washburn University, and Washburn University School of Law. Before she became a judge, she was county attorney and county counselor for Meade County and had a private law practice.
17th Judicial District
Chief Judge Paula Hofaker was reappointed in the 17th Judicial District, which is composed of Decatur, Graham, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, and Smith counties. She has served as a district judge since 2022 and chief judge since 2024.
Hofaker graduated from Washburn University School of Law. After law school, she had a private law practice in Logan.
18th Judicial District
Chief Judge Jeff Goering was reappointed in the 18th Judicial District, which is Sedgwick County. He has served as a district judge since 2004 and chief judge since 2019.
Goering graduated from Washburn University School of Law. Before he became a judge, he worked as an assistant district attorney in Sedgwick County, had a private practice in Leavenworth, and was municipal judge for the City of Leavenworth. He also served in the Kansas House of Representatives.
19th Judicial District
Chief Judge Nicholas St. Peter was reappointed in the 19th Judicial District, which is Cowley County. He has served as a district judge since 2004 and chief judge since 2010.
St. Peter graduated from Fort Hays State University and Washburn University School of Law.
21st Judicial District
Chief Judge Grant Bannister was reappointed in the 21st Judicial District, which is composed of Clay and Riley counties. He has served as a district judge since 2016 and chief judge since 2019.
Bannister graduated from Fort Hays State University and the University of Kansas School of Law. Before becoming a judge, he was in private practice in Manhattan and served as an adjunct professor teaching ethics in the College of Business at Kansas State University.
22nd Judicial District
Chief Judge John Weingart was reappointed in the 22nd Judicial District, which is composed of Brown, Doniphan, Marshall, and Nemaha counties. He has served as a district judge since 2000 and chief judge since January 2023.
Weingart graduated from Washburn University and Washburn University School of Law. Before becoming a judge, he was in private practice in Hiawatha for 24 years.
23rd Judicial District
Chief Judge Curtis Brown was reappointed in the 23rd Judicial District, which is composed of Ellis, Rooks, Trego, and Gove counties. He has served as district judge and chief judge since 2024.
Brown graduated from the University of Nebraska Kearney and the University of Tulsa College of Law. After law school, he worked for Kansas Legal Services in Hays. Before becoming a judge, Brown had a law practice and later served as attorney for Trego County and prosecutor for the city of WaKeeney.
24th Judicial District
Chief Judge Bruce Gatterman was reappointed in the 24th Judicial District, which is composed of Edwards, Hodgeman, Lane, Ness, Pawnee, and Rush counties. He has served as district judge and chief judge since 2003.
Gatterman graduated from Kansas State University and Washburn University School of Law. Before he became a judge, he served as a municipal judge for the City of Larned.
25th Judicial District
Chief Judge Kristi Cott was reappointed in the 25th Judicial District, which is composed of Finney, Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny, Scott, and Wichita counties. She has served as a district judge since 2021 and chief judge since 2022.
Cott graduated from the University of South Dakota and the University of South Dakota School of Law. She worked for the Western Regional Public Defender Office and for the Finney County Attorney’s Office. She worked in private practice before she was appointed district court judge.
26th Judicial District
Chief Judge Clinton Peterson was reappointed to the 26th Judicial District, which is composed of Grant, Haskell, Morton, Seward, Stanton, and Stevens counties. He has served as a district judge since 2009 and chief judge since 2022.
Peterson graduated from Southwestern College in Winfield and Washburn University School of Law. Before he became a judge, he worked as a prosecutor in the Seward County Attorney’s Office and was in private practice.
27th Judicial District
Chief Judge Daniel Gilligan was reappointed in the 27th Judicial District, which is Reno County. He has served as a district judge since 2022 and chief judge since 2024.
Gilligan graduated from Wichita State University and Washburn University School of Law. After law school, Gilligan worked for Kansas Legal Services and the Reno County District Attorney’s Office before becoming a judge in 2019.
28th Judicial District
Chief Judge Jared Johnson was reappointed in the 28th Judicial District, which is composed of Ottawa and Saline counties. He has served as a district judge since 2011 and chief judge since 2023.
Johnson graduated from the University of Kansas and the University of Kansas School of Law. After law school, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 2001 to 2005. He was in private practice in Salina before he was appointed district judge.
29th Judicial District
Chief Judge Robert Burns was reappointed in the 29th Judicial District, which is Wyandotte County. He has served as a district judge since 2004 and chief judge since 2019.
Burns graduated from Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame Law School. Before he became a judge, he was in private practice and served as a legal department attorney for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
30th Judicial District
Chief Judge William Mott was reappointed to the 30th Judicial District, which is composed of Barber, Harper, Kingman, Pratt, and Sumner counties. He has served as a district judge since 2007 and chief judge since 2017.
Mott graduated from Friends University and Washburn University School of Law. Before he became a judge, he practiced law in Wellington, served as Sumner County Attorney, and was a special assistant U.S attorney in Wichita.
31st Judicial District
Chief Judge Daniel Creitz was reappointed in the 31st Judicial District, which is composed of Allen, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson counties. He has served as a district judge since May 2002 and chief judge since 2011.
Creitz graduated from Allen County Community College, Emporia State University, and Washburn University School of Law.
Chief judge role
Each of Kansas’ 31 judicial districts has a chief judge who, in addition to their judicial responsibilities, has general control over case assignments within the district, as well as general supervisory authority over the administrative and clerical functions of the court. |
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