A 46-year-old lawyer from Chadron has been selected to fill a judicial vacancy in western Nebraska.

The office of Gov. Dave Heineman says he's named Paul Wess (wess) to serve as a county court judge in the 12th Judicial District.

The governor's office says Wess has been the Dawes County public defender since 2004 and the felony public defender for Sheridan County since 2006.

The vacancy is due to the retirement of Judge Charles Plantz.

The 12th Judicial District consists of Banner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Deuel, Garden and Grant counties, as well as Kimball, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan and Sioux counties.