Kate M. Fox (born 1955) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the supreme court, 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 sub ...

since 2021. Fox moved to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

when she was 16, after her family bought a ranch near Dubois. She completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in 1976, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

at the

University of Wyoming College of Law The University of Wyoming College of Law is the law school of the University of Wyoming and the only law school located in Wyoming. It is situated in the Rocky Mountains in Laramie, Wyoming at 7,165 ft. between the Laramie Mountains and Snowy ...

in 1989. She was editor-in-chief of the ''Land & Water Law Review''. Fox clerked for federal judge

Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr. (July 11, 1922 – October 23, 2014) was an American judge. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. Life and career Born in Rawlins, Wyoming, Bri ...

, of the

United States District Court for the District of Wyoming The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (in case citations, D. Wyo.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Wyoming and those portions of Yellowstone National Park situated in Montana and Id ...

, in 1989–90. Fox was in private practice from 1990 to 2013 with the law firm Davis & Cannon in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

. She specialized in

employment law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

and

natural resources law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

. Fox also served for five years on the Wyoming State Bar Board of Professional Responsibility, and on the Standing Committee on Local Rules for the U.S. District Court for Wyoming. In August 2013, Justice Barton R. Voigt announced his retirement. The

Judicial nominating commission A judicial nominating commission (also judicial nominating committee, judicial nominating board) in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments. Ju ...

submitted the names of three possible replacements to the Governor

Matt Mead Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the ...

. Fox was one of the candidates, along with attorneys Patrick R. Day and Robert Tiedeken. Governor

announced on November 21, 2013, that he had selected Fox for the vacancy. She is the second woman appointed to the

, after Marylin S. Kite. Fox began her service on the court in January 2014. Fox won a

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...

in 2016, with 76 per cent of the vote, to complete the remaining two years of Justice Voigt's term. She was re-elected to a new eight-year term in November 2018. On July 1, 2021, Fox became Chief Justice after

Michael K. Davis Michael K. Davis (born January 16, 1952) is a former justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court; he served on the court from 2012 to 2022. He received a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Western State College of Colorado in 1977, and a Juris Docto ...

's term as Chief Justice ended. She is the second woman Chief Justice in Wyoming history.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Kate M. 1955 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges Chief Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court People from Dubois, Wyoming University of Wyoming alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States