TOPEKA - Governor Laura Kelly and the Court of Appeals Nominating Commission announced Friday the three nominees chosen to fill the upcoming vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Henry Green, Jr. Governor Kelly will appoint one nominee to fill the vacancy. The appointment then is subject to Senate confirmation. 

The three Court of Appeals nominees are as follows:  

Meryl Carver-Allmond - Lawrence

Meryl Carver-Allmond is the general counsel for Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert. She additionally serves as an adjunct professor at Washburn University School of Law. Prior to her current role, she served as the training director for the Kansas public defender system, where she developed training for Kansas’ 550 public defenders, staff, and assigned counsel. Before being chosen as the first-ever statewide training director in 2021, Carver-Allmond worked as an appellate attorney for over a decade, most recently leading the Kansas Capital Appellate Defender Office. While there, she represented clients in capital and other high-level felony cases as part of defense teams in both the Kansas Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Carver-Allmond serves on the Kansas Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee and is the president of the Douglas County Bar Association. She has been involved with the National Association for Public Defense, the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Kansas Women Attorneys Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University and her juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law. 

Randall L. Hodgkinson - Topeka 

Randall L. Hodgkinson is an appellate defender for the Kansas Appellate Defender Office since 2000 where he represents individuals convicted of felonies before Kansas appellate courts. In addition to his criminal defense work, he has been a visiting assistant professor of law since 2006 at Washburn University School of Law. Hodgkinson is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and serves on the Kansas Judicial Council’s Criminal Law Advisory Committee. From 2005 to 2012 he served on the Appellate Procedure Advisory Committee, and in 2016 he served on the Kansas Supreme Court Time Standards Committee. Hodgkinson earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Wichita State University and his law degree from Arizona State University College of Law. 

Judge Lori Bolton-Fleming - Pittsburg 

Judge Lori Bolton-Fleming has served as the chief judge for the 11th Judicial District of Kansas since 2021. She was first appointed to the bench as a district court judge in 2012 by Governor Sam Brownback. She previously worked as a private practice attorney for Wilbert & Towner, P.A. and for Spigarelli Law Firm. Judge Bolton-Fleming additionally served as the legal clinic director for Pittsburg State University from 2009 to 2012. Before joining the legal profession, she served as an Elementary Music and English teacher at Fort Scott High School and Leavenworth Public Schools. She has served on the Kansas Supreme Court Pretrial Justice Task Force, the Rural Justice Initiative Committee, and the Kansas Cybersecurity Committee. Judge Bolton-Fleming earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Pittsburg State University and her law degree from the Washburn University School of Law.  

Governor Kelly signed Executive Order 20-01 Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, establishing the Court of Appeals Nominating Commission. Under Kansas law, the governor appoints judges to the Court of Appeals subject to confirmation by the Kansas Senate. The Commission will review each applicant’s background and qualifications, conduct interviews, and then submit three nominees for the governor to consider.