Keven M.P. O'Grady, a Johnson County district court judge since 2012, faces a retention vote on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot. Voters will decide whether to keep O'Grady on the bench in the nonpartisan Kansas District Court Judge, District 10, Division 1 race.
No challenger appears on the ballot.
In a retention election, voters simply mark "yes" or "no" on whether the judge should continue serving.
Candidate information
- Name: Keven M.P. O'Grady
- Office sought: Kansas District Court Judge, District 10, Division 1
- Residence: Prairie Village, Kansas
- Born: 1962, Red Oak, Iowa
- Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Rockhurst University, 1984; juris doctor, University of Kansas, 1987
- Current role: District court judge, Division 1 (Family Court), Tenth Judicial District (Johnson County), since 2012
Experience and public service
Before his appointment to the bench, O'Grady spent 25 years in private practice in suburban Kansas City, focusing primarily on family law, according to his AALL 2024 presenter biography. He practiced at successive iterations of the same firm: Ferree & Bunn, Chtd., through Ferree, Bunn, O'Grady & Rundberg, Chtd., according to his Johnson County District Court biography.
O'Grady served as president of the Kansas Bar Association's Family Law Section from 1999 to 2000. He is the master and founding president of the Johnson County Family Law American Inn of Court, according to his court biography.
On the bench, O'Grady has held several statewide roles. He has served as a member of the Kansas Supreme Court Access to Justice Committee and as chair of both the Kansas Supreme Court Advisory Council on Dispute Resolution and the Kansas Child Support Guidelines Advisory Committee, according to his court biography and Kansas Courts.
O'Grady partnered with judges, clerks and community stakeholders to create the Johnson County Self-Help Center in 2014. The center has provided guidance to more than 30,000 court patrons navigating the legal system without an attorney, according to Kansas Courts. In 2016, he launched a night court program one evening a month to serve people who struggle to reach the courthouse during the day.
He also connected the Office of Judicial Administration with University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law staff to create the Kansas Protection Order Portal, kspop.gov, according to Kansas Courts. The portal allows people to file online for protection from abuse, stalking or human trafficking. Nearly half of all statewide protection order applications are now filed through the portal.
Endorsements
The following evaluations and awards are credited to their respective sources:
- Johnson County Bar Association: In the 2018 Judicial Evaluation Survey, 95% of responding attorneys said O'Grady should be retained (114 responses). In the 2022 survey, 92% said the same (111 responses), according to the Johnson County Bar Association's judicial evaluations page.
- Conference of Chief Justices / Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA): O'Grady received the 2022 Mary C. McQueen Award, given to recognize extraordinary contributions to improving the administration of justice. The award was presented July 26, 2022, in Chicago, according to Kansas Courts.
O'Grady was also named the 2005 CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte County Kansas Attorney of the Year, received the 2019 Johnson County Bar Association President's Award and was named a "Super Lawyer" (top 5% of lawyers in Kansas and Missouri) by Law & Politics/KC Magazine in 2005, 2010, 2011 and 2012, according to his court biography.
Candidate information was drawn from publicly available sources including the Johnson County District Court, Kansas Courts, BallotReady and the Johnson County Bar Association. No candidate questionnaire responses were available for this profile.
