Country Wyoming, United States No. of positions 5 Since 2014 Currently E. James Burke Composition method Executive appointment | Judge term length 8 years Website Official website Lead position ends 2022 Number of positions 5 Location Cheyenne, Wyoming | |
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Headquarters Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States Decisions are appealed to Supreme Court of the United States | ||
The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the judicial nominating commission, for an eight-year term. One year after being appointed, a new justice stands for retention in office on a statewide ballot at the next general election. If a majority votes for retention, the justice serves the remainder of the term and may stand for retention for succeeding eight-year terms by means of a nonpartisan retention ballot every eight years. A justice must be a lawyer with at least nine years' experience in the law, be at least 30 years old, and must also be a United States citizen who has resided in Wyoming for at least three years. Justices must retire when they reach 70 years of age.
The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves. The person chosen serves as Chief Justice for four years. However, Richard V. Thomas of Cheyenne, a justice from 1974–2001, was chief justice only for two years, 1985–1986.
Current Justices
In 1974, Chief Justice Leonard McEwan (1925–2008) stepped down from the high court in Cheyenne to assume the Fourth District judgeship in Sheridan, where he had earlier practiced law. McEwan is thus far the only Supreme Court justice in Wyoming history to move to a lower court judgeship. McEwan was narrowly elected to the high court in 1968 on a nonpartisan ballot.