Marek appointed to Second District judge position

Wabaunsee County Attorney Norbert C. Marek Jr. was named on Friday as the new Second District Court Judge for Jackson County, it was reported.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced his appointment of Marek, a resident of Westmoreland, as the replacement for Judge Micheal A. Ireland, who died in late August.

“I am pleased to appoint Norbert Marek to the Second District Court,” Brownback said. “His ro­bust legal experience makes him highly qualified to serve the citi­zens of the Second District.”

In addition to serving as Wa­baunsee County Attorney and maintaining a private practice, Marek is also currently the city at­torney for 11 communities, including Goff, Ha­vensville and St. George, a munici­pal judge for several north central Kansas communities and a member of the Westmoreland City Council. Marek said he would be resigning those posts prior to being sworn in as district judge, a date for which has not yet been set.

During the nomination hearings, held Oct. 22 at the Jackson County Courthouse, Marek said his greatest strength was his “background in terms of variety of cases,” having worked as a prosecutor and as a defender, as well as authoring or co-authoring a number of published opinions in the Kansas Supreme Court and the state’s Court of Ap­peals. That, he said, has given him “a very well-rounded, practical le­gal education.”

Marek was one of three candi­dates forwarded to the governor’s office for appointment following the Oct. 22 hearings. The other two candidates were Shawna Miller of Holton, who currently serves as Jackson County Attorney, and Christopher Etzel, a resident of western Jackson County who has a law practice in Onaga.

It was reported that Kansas law requires that Ireland’s successor be a resident of Jackson County at the time of taking the oath and main­tain residency in Jackson County while holding office. Marek, cur­rently a resident of Pottawatomie County, said during the nomination hearings that if appointed, he would move to Jackson County, and he confirmed following Friday’s announcement that his family would be looking for a house here.

A native of Westmoreland, Marek is a 1990 graduate of Kansas State University and a 1995 graduate of Washburn University School of Law. Prior to being appointed Wabaunsee County Attorney in 2007, he worked for the Manhattan law firm of Myers, Pottroff and Ball.

Marek and his wife of 23 years, Jennifer, have a daughter, Sarah, who is a sophomore at KSU, and a son, Andrew, who is currently a sophomore at Rock Creek Junior-Senior High School.

The Second Judicial District in­cludes Jackson, Jefferson, Pot­tawatomie and Wabaunsee coun­ties.