Born in Oswego, Kansas, David J. Waxse earned his B.A. degree from the University of Kansas and his juris doctorate degree from Columbia University. Prior to his appointment as a Magistrate Judge in 1999, he was a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon. From 1992-1999, Judge Waxse was a member, and one time chair, of the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications, the state judicial discipline organization. He was also a member of the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee and the Mediation Panel for the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. In addition, he served on the Kansas Justice Commission, established by the Kansas Supreme Court to implement the Citizens' Justice Initiative review of the state justice system.