The governor has selected an attorney from Leavenworth County to fill a district court judge vacancy.

A commission also has released the names of three other attorneys nominated for a second vacancy in the 1st Judicial District, which comprises Leavenworth and Atchison counties.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius picked Michael Gibbens to fill the first vacancy in the district, which was created by the Oct. 1 retirement of Judge Philip C. Lacey, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The announcement of Gibbens’ appointment was made Friday.

“Michael has extensive experience in the legal community and in the courtroom and has handled a wide variety of civil and criminal cases,” Sebelius said in the release. “His background as a prosecutor, as a civil litigator and a municipal judge will serve the people of the 1st District well.”

Gibbens lives in Tonganoxie and is a managing member of the law firm of Gibbens, Sutton & Sonntag in Basehor.

He has been practicing law in Kansas for three decades. His legal tenure includes serving as assistant county attorney in Leavenworth County, a municipal judge for the city of Linwood and a part-time attorney for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, according to the release.

He graduated from Baker University before earning his law degree from the Washburn University School of Law.

Gibbens has served as secretary, treasurer and vice president of the Leavenworth County Bar Association.

Gibbens was one of three lawyers from 1st Judicial District nominated to the governor to fill the vacancy created by Lacey’s retirement. The other nominees were Gerald R. Kuckelman, Atchison County attorney, and Cheryl A. Marquardt, an assistant Leavenworth County attorney.

Kuckelman now has been nominated by a commission for the second vacancy, which was created by the Oct. 1 retirement of Judge Frederick Stewart, according to a news release the state Office of Judicial Administration.

The other nominees for the this vacancy are Michael F. Willcott and Danny K. Wiley. Both men are in private practice in Leavenworth.

The names of the attorneys picked for the second group of nominees were certified Monday by the 1st Judicial District Nominating Commission, according to the release.

Sebelius will have 30 days to appointment of one of three nominees to the position of district court judge.

Kuckelman has been Atchison County attorney since 2001 and has maintained a private practice since 1987. Before that, he served as an assistant Harvey County attorney and as an assistant attorney general.  He is a graduate of Washburn University and Washburn’s law school.

Willcott, who resides in Tonganoxie, has a Leavenworth law office and has been in private practice since 1977. He is a 1969 graduate of Washburn University and a 1976 graduate of Washburn’s law school, according to the release.

Wiley has been a member of the Leavenworth firm of Murray, Tillotson & Wiley since 1993.  He also has been municipal judge for the city of Leavenworth since 1997, and has served as a judge pro-tem of Leavenworth District Court since 2003.

The 1st Judicial District Nominating Commission includes Kansas Supreme Court Justice Eric S. Rosen as the nonvoting chairman; Robert D. Beall, Leavenworth; John R. Kurth, Atchison; J. David Farris, Atchison; E. Roger Horsky, Leavenworth; Rosemary Niles, Atchison; Mildred G. McMillon, Tonganoxie; Julie A. Clem, Atchison; and Dr. Roy A. Braum, Easton.

Members of the commission interviewed 15 applicants last month for the two vacancies.