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HON. ROBERT W. FAIRCHILD has been a District Court Judge in Division 1 of the 7th Judicial District Court in Douglas County since March 8, 1996. On January 1, 2002, he was appointed Chief Judge. Prior to his position on the bench, Judge Fairchild was in private practice in Lawrence with the firm of Riling, Burkhead, Fairchild & Hitcher, Chtd. Presently, he is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Kansas School of Law where he has taught alternative dispute resolution since 1993. He is a member of the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters, the Supreme Court Education Committee and the advisory board of The Leadership Institute in Judicial Education at the University of Memphis. Judge Fairchild also is a member of the Kansas and Douglas County bar associations and the Executive Committee of the Judge Hugh Means Inn of Court. He earned his B.A. degree from Texas Tech University and his J.D. degree from the University of Kansas. HON. ERIC W. GODDERZ was appointed as District Court Judge in the 4th Judicial District in March 2007. He sits in Anderson County where he handles primarily a civil docket with some criminal cases. A graduate of the University of Kansas and Washburn University School of Law, Judge Godderz engaged in the private practice of law and also served as a public defender and prosecutor before his appointment to the bench. He was Osage County Attorney from 1996 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2007. Judge Godderz's professional association activities include the Kansas Bar Association, the American Judges Association and the Kansas Association for Justice. HON. LARRY HENDRICKS was appointed as District Court Judge in the 3rd Judicial District in 2006. Judge Hendricks primarily handles civil and domestic cases, and his administrative duties include service on a number of court committees. A graduate of Kansas State University, the University of Northern Colorado and Washburn University School of Law, Judge Hendricks was engaged in the private practice of law for 24 years, including serving as a city attorney for the cities of Auburn, Alma, LeCompton and Perry, Kansas, before being appointed to the bench. Judge Hendricks has been appointed to serve on the Committee to Review and Revise Shawnee County Family Law Guidelines and to chair the Committee to Review Shawnee County Juvenile Court Procedures and Practices. HON. SALLY D. POKORNY was appointed as District Court Judge in the 7th Judicial District in January 2009. Judge Pokorny handles all types of civil cases as well as felony and misdemeanor cases. She is a graduate of Washburn University and Washburn University School of Law. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Pokorny engaged in the general practice of law and served as assistant district attorney in Shawnee County and as county attorney and assistant county attorney in Montgomery County. She also was employed as an attorney with the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in the Child Support Enforcement Division. Judge Pokorny is a member of the Douglas County Bar Association and the Kansas Bar Association, serving on various committees. She is a member of the Kansas Bar Foundation where she has been a trustee for 12 years and also has served as secretary, vice president, president-elect and president. In addition, Judge Pokorny is a district representative in the Kansas Women Attorneys Association and a member of the Lawrence Women Attorneys Association.
HON. JEAN SCHMIDT was appointed as District Court Judge in the 3rd Judicial District in 2003. She handles a docket of primarily domestic relations cases in Shawnee County and previously handled juvenile offender cases as well. A graduate of Bethel College and Washburn University School of Law, Judge Schmidt worked as a prosecutor in Shawnee County and Douglas County, as an assistant attorney general, and as a staff attorney with the Insurance Department and the Legal Aid Society of Topeka before her appointment to the bench. Judge Schmidt is active in the Topeka Bar Association Family Law Committee and is a member of the Supreme Court High Conflict Domestic Committee and the Supreme Court Education Committee. She also is a board member of Project Safe Visit and a frequent presenter at new judge orientation and non-judicial employee seminars, and for other local bar and community organizations.
HON. JOHN L. WEINGART is a District Court Judge in the Brown County District Court. MODERATOR - CRAIG C. BLUMREICH is a shareholder in the Topeka law firm of Larson & Blumreich, Chartered, where his practice is concentrated in the area of insurance defense, with an emphasis in insurance coverage litigation, and in the defense of automobile negligence, products liability and civil rights actions. Mr. Blumreich graduated, cum laude, from the Washburn University School of Law. He served for two years as a research attorney for Justice Bob Abbott of the Kansas Supreme Court. Since 1981, he has served as an adjunct professor for the Washburn University School of Business where he teaches courses in commercial transactions and legal business administration in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Mr. Blumreich is a member of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, the Defense Research Institute, and the Kansas and Topeka bar associations. He has lectured throughout the state of Kansas and also in Missouri, Oklahoma and California on various insurance related issues. MODERATOR - THOMAS D. HANEY is of counsel to the Topeka law firm of Henson, Hutton, Mudrick, and Gragson, LLP. His practice areas include civil litigation administrative law, complex criminal litigation and trial practice. Mr. Haney is an adjunct professor at Washburn University School of Law and was the attorney-in-charge of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas from 1981 to 1984. He earned his B.A. degree from Washburn University and his J.D. degree from Washburn University School of Law. Mr. Haney is admitted to practice in Kansas as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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