Jane Sieve Wilson, an assistant Wyandotte County attorney, was appointed June 3 by Gov. Laura Kelly to fill the term of retiring Chief Judge Wayne Lampson in the Wyandotte County District Court.
The news of the appointment was confirmed by the governor’s office.
A resident of Kansas City, Kansas, Wilson has spent the last five years as an assistant attorney with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas, where she handles legal issues affecting county management, the county jail, the Sheriff’s Department and labor relations.
Before working for the Unified Government, Wilson was a trial attorney with Liberty Mutual, and spent almost four years in private practice at the firms of McAnany, Van Cleave and Phillips, P.A., and Lathrop Gage LLP.
“Jane is not just an accomplished attorney, she’s also a lifelong resident of Wyandotte County, and she will be an excellent judge,” Kelly said in a news release. “Her experience with a wide variety of legal issues has prepared her for service on the bench, and her performance in last year’s judicial election shows that many voters in Wyandotte County already know and trust her. I know she will serve the citizens of Wyandotte County well.”
Wilson has also served as a municipal judge pro tempore. After growing up in Wyandotte County, she graduated from Kansas State University in 2002 and earned her juris doctor from Washburn University School of Law in 2005. In 2018, Wilson was the runner-up in the primary election for the Division 5 district court judge position.
“I’m honored that Governor Kelly has chosen me for this position,” Wilson said in the news release. “Serving as a district court judge requires constant vigilance to ensure that each hearing is fair and each case is resolved impartially based only on the law and the facts. That will be my goal every day. Chief Judge Lampson set a great example that I hope to honor and follow so that anyone who comes into my courtroom understands the process and is confident that the result is just.”
Gov. Kelly chose Wilson after a committee of the Wyandotte County Bar Association chose three finalists. The other finalists were Mike Nichols, a private practice attorney in Kansas City, Kansas, and Jennifer Tatum, a prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri. Both Tatum and Nichols reside in Kansas City, Kansas.
Judges in Wyandotte County are elected and serve four-year terms. When a judge retires in the middle of a term, the governor appoints a new judge to finish out the term. The Division 8 position to which Wilson is being appointed will be on the ballot in 2020.