Kansas Chief Justice Eric S. Rosen will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot for a retention vote on his Position 4 seat on the Kansas Supreme Court.

Retention elections ask voters a simple question: should the justice remain on the bench? The race is nonpartisan, and Rosen is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data. His current term runs from January 2021 to January 2027.

Rosen, a Topeka native, became the 25th chief justice in Kansas history after affirming his oath of office in a Jan. 8, 2026, ceremony, according to the Kansas courts. He has served on the Kansas Supreme Court since 2005, according to BallotReady profile data.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Kansas Supreme Court Justice, Position 4 (retention)
  • Hometown: Topeka
  • Family: Wife, Elizabeth "Libby" Rosen; four children and ten grandchildren
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in social work, University of Kansas (1975); master's degree, University of Kansas (1975); J.D., Washburn University (1984); Appellate Judges School, New York University School of Law
  • Party: Nonpartisan

Experience and public service

Before entering law, Rosen worked as a school social worker and attended law school part-time while raising a family, according to the Lawrence KS Times.

His legal career began in Shawnee County, where he served as assistant district attorney from 1985 to 1987, then as associate general counsel for the Kansas Securities Commissioner from 1987 to 1988, according to BallotReady profile data. He worked in private practice at Porter, Fairchild, Wachter, and Haney in Topeka from 1988 to 1990, then as a partner at Hein, Ebert, and Rosen in Topeka from 1990 to 1993.

Rosen also served as an assistant public defender in Shawnee County, according to the Kansas courts website.

He was elected a district judge in the 3rd Judicial District covering Shawnee County in 1993 and served until 2005, according to the Kansas courts biography. During that time he served as chief judge of the domestic division. He chaired the Kansas Judicial Council.

Rosen was the first Jewish person appointed a district court judge in Kansas, the first to serve on the Kansas Supreme Court and the first Jewish chief justice in the state's history, according to the Lawrence KS Times.

Outside the courtroom, Rosen lectured at the Menninger School of Law and Psychiatry from 1993 to 2003, taught at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center from 2008 to 2010 and served as an adjunct professor at Washburn University, according to BallotReady. He is a member of the American Judges Association and the Dwight D. Opperman Institute of Judicial Administration at New York University School of Law.

On the issues

No issue responses from Rosen were available for this profile.

Candidate information in this profile is drawn from the Kansas courts website, the Lawrence KS Times and BallotReady. The Wichita Record did not interview the candidate. Voters can find more information on their ballot through BallotReady or the Kansas Secretary of State's office.