The Wyoming Supreme Court is the
highest court in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of
Wyoming. The Court consists of a
Chief Justice and four
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
s. Each Justice is appointed by the
Governor of Wyoming
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
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, at least 30 years old, and 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
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
, a justice from 1974 to 2001, was chief justice only for two years (1985–1986).
Justices
Current justices
References
Notes
External links
Official site*
Wyoming
Wyoming state courts
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing
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