Marla J. Luckert (born July 20, 1955) is the chief justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the st ...

appointed by Governor

Bill Graves William Preston Graves (born January 9, 1953) is an American former politician who was the 43rd governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003. Career Graves was born in Salina, Kansas to parents who owned a trucking firm. After graduating from Kans ...

on November 20, 2002, and sworn on January 13, 2003.

Personal life

Marla J. Luckert was born in Goodland,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. At

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

she earned 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 year ...

in history in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

in 1980.

Professional life

After law school, Luckert joined the

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

of Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds and Palmer in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. She also served as an adjunct professor of law at Washburn. Luckert was appointed by Governor Joan Finney to the Third Judicial District Court in 1992. In 2000, she became chief justice of the Third Judicial Court. In 2003 she was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court by Governor Bill Graves. Luckert has served as president of the

Kansas Bar Association The Kansas Bar Association (KBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association for the state of Kansas with the headquarters located in The Robert L. Gernon Law Center at 12th and Harrison St. in Topeka. The KBA has approximately 6,500 members and ...

, the Kansas District Judges Association, the Kansas Women Attorneys Association, the Topeka Bar Association, the Sam A. Crow Inn of Court, and the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka. Luckert is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Kansas Bar Foundation. On December 17, 2019, Luckert became Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court after the retirement of Lawton Nuss.

Awards

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Woman of Excellence Award (1996) *

Outstanding Service Award (1990) * Kansas Association of Defense Counsel's Distinguished Service Award (1990)

References

External links

Official Biography
, - 1955 births 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Kansas state court judges Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Living people People from Goodland, Kansas People from Topeka, Kansas Washburn University alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States 21st-century American women judges {{Kansas-state-judge-stub