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Per-judge retention calls inside
The ballot
Kansas Court of Appeals judges are appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the state Senate. A new judge stands for retention after the first year, then every four years — an uncontested yes-or-no question on the statewide ballot. A majority of YES votes retains; a majority of NO votes removes the judge when the term ends. The election is November 3, 2026.
Five judges are on the ballot: Lesley A. Isherwood (Position 2), Amy F. Cline (Position 3), Kim R. Schroeder (Position 5), Lori Bolton Fleming (Position 7), and Jacy J. Hurst (Position 13). Two judges who might have stood — Thomas E. Malone and Stephen D. Hill — are not seeking retention, per the Kansas Bar Association.
Kansas has no state performance commission for these judges. The evaluation evidence is the Kansas Bar Association's 2026 Judicial Review Survey: attorneys with first-hand professional experience of each judge answer whether the judge should be retained. The figure under each name is that share, as published by the KBA and reported by the Johnson County Post. Every judge on this slate clears three-quarters.
| Judge | Position | On the court since | Appointed by | KBA attorneys recommending retention | Our call | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Lesley A. Isherwood | 2 | 2021 | Gov. Laura Kelly | 75% | Retain | | Amy F. Cline | 3 | 2020 | Gov. Laura Kelly | 83% | Retain | | Kim R. Schroeder | 5 | 2013 | Gov. Sam Brownback | 89% | Retain | | Lori Bolton Fleming | 7 | 2025 | Gov. Laura Kelly | 91% | Retain | | Jacy J. Hurst | 13 | 2021 | Gov. Laura Kelly | 78% | Retain |
Per-judge notes
Lesley A. Isherwood (75%). Of Wichita. Before the bench she was a senior assistant district attorney in the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office — a prosecutor's career. Washburn law degree. Her 75% is the lowest figure on this slate; it is still three of every four attorneys who have practiced before her recommending she stay, and no adverse record of any kind surfaced in our research. Retain.
Amy F. Cline (83%). Of Wichita. Appointed 2020 after 20 years litigating in private practice. University of Kansas law degree; Wichita State undergraduate. No adverse record surfaced. Retain.
Kim R. Schroeder (89%). The slate's longest-serving judge: appointed in 2013 by Governor Sam Brownback after 14 years as a district judge in the 26th Judicial District and a private-practice career in southwestern Kansas. Washburn law degree. Twenty-seven years a judge in total, and the second-highest bar figure on the slate. Retain.
Lori Bolton Fleming (91%). The slate's newest judge, appointed 2025 — this is her first retention check. She came to the appeals court from the 11th Judicial District, where she was a district judge and chief judge; before law she taught public school in Leavenworth and Fort Scott (Pittsburg State, music education), then practiced law and directed the legal clinic at Pittsburg State. Washburn law degree. Her 91% ties for the highest figure on the Kansas appellate ballot. Retain.
Jacy J. Hurst (78%). Of Lawrence. Appointed 2021 after a private-practice career as a business litigator (health-care and employment law), including service as general counsel and chief compliance officer of Swope Health Services (2014–2017); she is also an adjunct professor at Washburn University School of Law. University of Kansas law degree. No adverse record surfaced. Retain.
Dirt, for the slate as a whole: none documented. Our research — the KBA survey, the Johnson County Post's guide, and Kansas coverage of this ballot — surfaced no disciplinary record, no ethics finding, and no organized retain-or-remove campaign against any of the five. The two lowest bar figures (Isherwood 75%, Hurst 78%) are printed above with their numbers, not smoothed over; both remain clear majorities of the attorneys with first-hand experience.
OUR CALL
Our rule: Retain is the verdict for a judge with a serviceable documented record; removal requires proven cause — documented misconduct, proven activist judging that breaks faith with the law, or an evaluation failure. All five judges carry bar-survey retention recommendations between 75% and 91%, from the only evaluator Kansas provides, and no proven cause exists against any of them.
Retain: Lesley A. Isherwood, Amy F. Cline, Kim R. Schroeder, Lori Bolton Fleming, Jacy J. Hurst. Do not retain: none.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources - Kansas Bar Association — Judicial Retention Surveys, 2026 (appellate slate; Malone and Hill not seeking retention) — https://ksbar.org/?pg=Retention-Surveys - Johnson County Post, October 14, 2026 — judicial retention guide (per-judge biographies and KBA retention percentages: Isherwood 75%, Cline 83%, Schroeder 89%, Fleming 91%, Hurst 78%) — https://johnsoncountypost.com/2026/10/14/johnson-county-judicial-retention-vote-explainer-298550/ - Kansas Bar Association — Your Kansas Judges / 2026 Judicial Review Survey (methodology: first-hand professional experience only) — https://ksbar.org/?pg=your-kansas-judges
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.