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Gov. Kelly appoints Tonganoxie alum to another Court of Appeals position

By Conner Mitchell - | Aug 26, 2020

Carl Folsom III was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals by Gov. Laura Kelly Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, at the Statehouse. in Topeka.

In June, members of the Kansas Senate rejected the appointment of Carl Folsom, Lawrence, an assistant federal public defender in Topeka and adjunct law professor at the University of Kansas, to serve on the Kansas Court of Appeals. The justification among Senate Republicans was that Folsom once represented someone accused of possessing child pornography.

However, public defenders by nature do not choose their clients, and at the time, Kelly openly voiced her displeasure with the Senate’s lack of understanding of Folsom’s job duties.

After Folsom’s first nomination to replace retiring Judge G. Joseph Pierron was rejected, a second vacancy opened on the court with the retirement of Judge Steve Leben, who took a teaching position at the UMKC School of Law.

So Kelly said Monday that after another thorough vetting of candidates, she was again submitting Folsom for the Senate’s approval.

“He is without a doubt the person most qualified for the job,” Kelly said in a press conference Monday.

In a separate news release from Kelly’s office, Folsom said he was honored to again have Kelly’s support to serve on the court.

“I am honored and humbled that Governor Kelly has confidence in my ability to serve the people of Kansas as a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals,” he said in the release. “I am looking forward to continuing Judge Leben’s commitment to procedural fairness, to ensure a transparent process where all litigants are given a voice, and are treated fairly, evenly, and with dignity and respect.”

Folsom graduated from Tonganoxie High School in 1998.