Wyoming Supreme Court
| Wyoming Supreme Court |
|---|
|
| Court Information |
| Justices: 5 |
| Founded: 1889 |
| Location: Cheyenne |
| Salary |
| Associates: $187,250[1] |
| Judicial Selection |
| Method: Assisted appointment (hybrid) |
| Term: 8 years |
| Active justices |
| Lynne Boomgaarden, John G. Fenn, Kate M. Fox, Kari Jo Gray, Robert Jarosh |
Founded in 1889, the Wyoming Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Kate M. Fox.
As of January 2022, all five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.
The Wyoming Supreme Court is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. [2]
In Wyoming, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Jurisdiction
The Wyoming Supreme Court has general appellate jurisdiction, hearing appeals from lower Wyoming courts in civil and criminal cases. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving quo warranto and mandamus relating to all state officers and in cases regarding habeas corpus. The Court also has power to issue writs of mandamus, review, prohibition, habeas corpus, certiorari, and other writs necessary to the exercise of its appellate duties.
The supreme court has general supervisory authority over the state's lower courts. It has authority to create rules governing litigation in the state. It has authority to suspend a judge without pay if he or she is convicted, or pleads guilty, to a felony or crime of moral turpitude. The supreme court also has the authority to oversee the state bar and to ensure that powers delegated to it are properly executed.[3]
The following text from Article V, Sections 2 and 3 of the Wyoming Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:
| “ | Appellate Jurisdiction
The judicial power of the state shall be vested in the senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, in a supreme court, district courts, and such subordinate courts as the legislature may, by general law, establish and ordain from time to time. Original Jurisdiction The supreme court shall have general appellate jurisdiction, co-extensive with the state, in both civil and criminal causes, and shall have a general superintending control over all inferior courts, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. [4] |
” |
| —Wyoming Constitution, Article V, Sections 2 and 3 | ||
Justices
The table below lists the current justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office. The table below lists the current judges of the Wyoming Supreme Court and the appointing governor.
| Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming Supreme Court | Lynne Boomgaarden | Nonpartisan | February 20, 2018 |
| Wyoming Supreme Court | John G. Fenn | Nonpartisan | January 17, 2022 |
| Wyoming Supreme Court | Kate M. Fox | Nonpartisan | January 6, 2014 |
| Wyoming Supreme Court | Kari Jo Gray | Nonpartisan | October 9, 2018 |
| Wyoming Supreme Court | Robert Jarosh | Nonpartisan | March 27, 2024 |
Judicial selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Wyoming
The five justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. When a vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of three names provided by a nominating commission. There are seven members on the commission. Three members must be lawyers appointed by the state bar and three must be non-lawyers appointed by the governor. The chief justice of the supreme court serves as chairman and only votes in the event of a tie. The governor must appoint a person from the commission's list.[5]
Newly appointed judges serve for at least one year, after which they must stand for retention in the next general election. If retained, a judge will finish the remainder of his or her predecessor's unexpired term. Subsequent terms last eight years.[6][7]
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a state resident for at least three years;
- at least nine years legal experience;
- no younger than 30 years old; and
- no older than 70.*[6]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by peer vote, serving in that capacity for four years.[6][5]
Vacancies
When a vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a replacement from a list of three names provided by a nominating commission. After the appointed justice has served at least one year, they must stand for retention in the next general election. If retained, a judge will finish the remainder of his or her predecessor's unexpired term. Subsequent terms last eight years.[5]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Elections
- See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections
2024
- See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections, 2024
The terms of two Wyoming Supreme Court justices expired on January 6, 2025. The two seats were up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was August 5, 2024.
Candidates and results
Fenn's seat
See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Wyoming Supreme Court
Incumbent John G. Fenn won election in the general election for Wyoming Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | John G. Fenn (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 175,946 |
| Total votes: 175,946 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Cox's seat
See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Wyoming Supreme Court
Incumbent Kate M. Fox won election in the general election for Wyoming Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kate M. Fox (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 177,758 |
| Total votes: 177,758 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
- See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections, 2020
Candidates and results
Boomgaarden's seat
General election candidates
- Lynne Boomgaarden (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
Gray's seat
General election candidates
- Kari Jo Gray (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
2016
- See also: Wyoming Supreme Court elections, 2016
Justices who faced retention
■ Kate M. Fox 
■ William U. Hill
■ Keith G. Kautz
Election results
November 8 general election
Kate M. Fox was retained in the Wyoming Supreme Court. She won election with 76.32% of the vote.
| Wyoming Supreme Court, Fox's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Kate M. Fox | 76.32% | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State Official Results | ||
William U. Hill (Wyoming) was retained in the Wyoming Supreme Court. He won election with 76.24% of the vote.
| Wyoming Supreme Court, Hill's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| William U. Hill (Wyoming) | 76.24% | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Keith G. Kautz was retained in the Wyoming Supreme Court. He won election with 76.56% of the vote.
| Wyoming Supreme Court, Kautz's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Keith G. Kautz | 76.56% | |
| Source: Wyoming Secretary of State Official Results | ||
2014
Retention
| Judge | Election Vote |
|---|---|
| Michael K. Davis (Wyoming) | 77.5%  |
| James Burke | 77.3% |
Caseloads
Wyoming does not provide caseload statistics for its supreme court.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.
The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:
- We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
- We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
- We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
- We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.
Summary of cases decided in 2020
- Number of justices: 5
- Number of cases: 158
- Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 96.2%% (152)
- Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Boomgaarden (28)
- Per curiam decisions: 26
- Concurring opinions: 6
- Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Kautz (3)
- Dissenting opinions: 6
- Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Fox (3)
For the study's full set of findings in Wyoming, click here.
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
- See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[8]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[9]
Wyoming had a Court Balance Score of 6.4, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
- See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Wyoming was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Wyoming received a score of 0.37. Based on the justices selected, Wyoming was the 12th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[10]
History of the court
The Wyoming Territory was created in 1868. An Organic statute created the state's first court system, including a supreme court, acting as the territory's appellate court. It consisted of three justices, appointed by the U.S. president, for four-year terms. The territory was divided into three judicial districts, with each supreme court justice serving as the district court judge in one district, thereby requiring justices to hear appeals of cases they themselves decided.[11]
With statehood in 1889, and the passage of the Wyoming Constitution, still in use today, a judiciary was established with the supreme court at its helm. The court had three justices, elected by voters, for eight-year terms. The supreme court was separate from district courts, so justices no longer needed to ride circuit and preside over district courts. The constitution provided the supreme court with appellate jurisdiction over district courts and original jurisdiction in matters of extraordinary relief.[12]
In 1957, Wyoming voters passed a constitutional amendment, proposed by the state legislature, to increase the number of justices to four. The intention was to have justices sit in rotating panels of three. However the four justices always all sat on cases, resulting in many split decisions. In 1971, voters passed another constitutional amendment, proposed by the legislature, providing for three to five justices as determined by the legislature. The court currently has five justices. The 1971 constitutional amendment also allowed the court to determine who would be its chief justice.[13]
In 1972, the constitution was amended to create a judicial nominating commission for Judicial selection in Wyoming of supreme court justices and district judges, justices were also required to stand for nonpartisan retention elections. The amendment created the commission on judicial conduct and ethics, responsible for policing the state's judiciary to ensure competence and fitness to serve. The amendment also set a mandatory retirement age of seventy for justices.[14]
Courthouse renovations
Between 2006 and 2008, the building that houses the state high court, the law library, and the state library, underwent extensive renovation. During renovations, court was held in the former offices of the Wyoming Department of Health located in the Hathaway Building, and a miniature courtroom was erected in the Hathaway's lobby. At the time of the renovations, the building was 70 years old.[15]
Courts in Wyoming
- See also: Courts in Wyoming
In Wyoming, there is one federal district court, a state supreme court, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.
Click a link for information about that court type.
The image below depicts the flow of cases through Wyoming's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.
Party control of Wyoming state government
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.
Wyoming has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.
.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch, "About the Supreme Court," accessed August 12, 2021
- ↑ Oxford University Press,"The Wyoming State Constitution," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Merit Selection: Current Status," accessed August 12, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Wyoming," accessed August 11, 2021
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Wyoming," archived January 13, 2012
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch,"About the Courts," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch,"About the Courts," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch,"About the Courts," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Oxford University Press,"The Wyoming State Constitution," accessed July 1, 2024
- ↑ Casper Tribune, "Wyo Supreme Court building reopens after major reconstruction," accessed September 19, 2019
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