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Laura Kelly appoints Judge K. Christopher Jayaram to the Kansas Supreme Court

Governor Laura Kelly has appointed Judge K. Christopher Jayaram to the Kansas Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Justice Marla Luckert, Western Kansas News reported. Jayaram’s appointment follows the state’s merit-based process for filling court vacancies, in which the Supreme Court Nominating Commission submits three nominees and the governor has 60 days to select one.

Warm-lit Kansas courthouse steps with citizens and legal professionals approaching for a fair, impartial judicial appointment

Jayaram has served as a District Court Judge in Johnson County District Court since 2021, including time assigned to Family Court matters. He currently presides over civil disputes in the Civil Department. Before joining the bench, he worked as a civil litigation attorney at Horn, Aylward & Bandy and Smith, Freed, Heald & Chock, with experience that included complex commercial and product liability litigation, as well as transportation-related issues.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science from the University of Kansas and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern School of Law in Portland, Oregon. The article also describes Jayaram’s involvement in legal education and professional organizations, as well as community activity coaching competitive youth soccer for Toca FC and membership in a church in Olathe.

As part of the court’s structure, Kansas Supreme Court justices appointed through this process must face a retention vote in the general election after their initial appointment, with subsequent retention votes every six years while they serve.