BY: ANNA KAMINSKI
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court swore in a new justice Wednesday, marking Gov. Laura Kelly’s fourth appointee to the bench.
After an informal ceremony Wednesday morning at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka, Larkin Walsh succeeded Evelyn Wilson, another Kelly appointee who resigned from the court in July.
“The informal swearing-in allows Walsh to begin her official duties ahead of a formal swearing-in ceremony,” said court spokesperson Lisa Taylor in a press release.
The formal ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 21.
Walsh was a private practice attorney from Leawood before her appointment to the state Supreme Court. She specialized in appellate, civil rights, consumer protection, and labor and employment law, and she has argued and briefed cases on multiple levels, from Kansas appellate courts to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is one of three Kelly appointees on the bench. Wilson officially resigned on July 4, citing ALS as her reason. She served for roughly five years
Walsh’s first oral arguments as a state Supreme Court justice are scheduled for late October, according to the court’s docket.
Kelly, a Democrat, appointed Walsh in August through a merit-based review process that involves a panel of attorneys and gubernatorial appointees, which selects three nominees for the governor to choose from. Walsh will be on voters’ ballots after a year of service for a retention vote, as is constitutionally required. Republican legislators are attempting to change the judicial selection process by way of an August 2026 ballot measure proposing popular vote elections for state Supreme Court justices.