Powers tabbed to lead state judges

Chief Judge Michael Powers of Marion, who oversees courts in the 8th Judicial District, including Dickinson, Geary, and Morris Counties, has been named president-elect of the statewide Kansas District Judges Association.

Powers, who will become president next July 1, became a district judge for Marion and Morris Counties in 1991. Before that, he spent 11 years in private practice and as Morris County attorney.

In 2010, he served as a substitute justice on the Kansas Supreme Court, filling in for an ailing judge for a day of arguments. He previously helped the Kansas Court of Appeals work through a backlog of cases.

He and his wife, Judy, live in Marion.