Judge Gilligan settling in to District III position

JUDD WEIL
Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Judge Daniel D. Gilligan was sworn in as the Division III District Judge for Reno County on Jan. 9, following Judge Joe McCarville’s retirement from the position.  

“That left the magistrate position vacant, and that will be filled by governor’s appointment,” Judge Gilligan said. “The governor has not chosen that yet, so I’m currently working both divisions, Position I and Division III.”  

By statute, Governor Laura Kelly has 90 days to choose a new magistrate judge.  

As a candidate to fill the magistrate judge position is searched for, Judge Gilligan will continue performing the duties of both a magistrate and district judge.  

“A magistrate judge in Kansas can hear all the misdemeanor cases, even up to and including termination if parties agree that the judge can hear it. If parties object, then a law trained district court judge would have to hear the termination trial,” Judge Gillian said. “But in this county, the magistrate does all the traffic, all the misdemeanors, and half of the felonies, but he cannot do felony sentencing or do anything on felony sentences. That has to get transferred upstairs to Division I or Division II for them to actually sentence someone after they’ve had a preliminary hearing down here or waived that preliminary hearing down here.”  

Now the District Judge for Division III, Gilligan will be able to take pleas and execute felony sentences. 

“If somebody fails on community corrections, I would send them to prison,” Gillian explained. “All a magistrate can do is send someone to jail, is an easy way to look at it.” 

Judge Gilligan earned his law degree at the Washburn University School of Law, and has always had an interest in law. 

“I actually ran for the office of Judge, I think in fifth grade, when we had an exchange city in elementary school,” Gilligan said. “I lost that election. But I wanted to be a judge then so I can say as early as fifth grade I wanted to be a judge.”  

It was in high school during his time on the debate team, that really cemented Gilligan’s enjoyment of litigation.  

Gilligan initially wanted to be a lawyer, but got “sidetracked” into a career in computer science.  

Eventually, corporate shake-ups offered him two options to relocate that he did not want. Giving himself a third option, Gilligan applied and got into the Washburn University School of Law.  

In aspiration of becoming a prosecutor as a start to his career, Gilligan landed an internship with the Shawnee County DA’s office while in school.  

As an intern, Gilligan said he prosecuted six jury trials and at least 30 bench trials before he graduated. 

After graduation, Gilligan said he faced a fierce job market.  

“I was going up against candidates for entry level positions, that had up to ten years of experience,” Gilligan said.  

He eventually found a job in Reno County with Kansas Legal Services, and in the process came to see Hutchinson, Kansas as his new home and community.  

From Kansas Legal Services, Gilligan moved on to the DA’s office, where he worked his way up to senior district attorney.  

 Judge Gilligan began his career as a judge, when he was appointed to the bench in January 2019. 

He was appointed magistrate judge to fill a vacant seat. Upon completing that term, he officially and successfully ran, unopposed, in the election for the magistrate position in 2020.  

The magistrate judge position is a four-year term. The magistrate position will return to an elected status, once the term of whoever the governor appoints to it is completed.  

For his time as magistrate judge, Gilligan won the Lee Nusser Award for Outstanding Magistrate Judge of 2021.  

Judge Gilligan said his goal was eventually reach where he is now as the Division III District Judge.  

“McCarville’s position opened up, he has been a mentor to me as a magistrate judge so it was wonderful to be able to take on his position,” Gilligan said. “I’ve been involved in the drug court program when I was a prosecutor in the DA’s office, and then I’ve covered the drug court program for him as a magistrate judge. I’ve been involved with the drug court program all along and he had a great passion for the program and so do I, so I was anxious to take on that program as well.”  

Judge Gilligan said if he were to move further in his career, he would happily take over the position of Chief Judge of Reno County.  

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