Kate M. Fox

For other people named Kate Fox, see Kate Fox (disambiguation).
Kate Fox
Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 1, 2021
Preceded byMichael K. Davis
Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2014
Appointed byMatt Mead
Preceded byBarton R. Voigt
Personal details
Born1955 (age 68–69)
EducationUniversity of Wyoming (BA, JD)

Kate M. Fox (born 1955) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court since 2021.[1]

Fox moved to Wyoming when she was 16, after her family bought a ranch near Dubois.[2] She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Wyoming in 1976, and a Juris Doctor at the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1989.[3] She was editor-in-chief of the Land & Water Law Review.[3] Fox clerked for federal judge Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr., of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, in 1989–90.

Fox was in private practice from 1990 to 2013 with the law firm Davis & Cannon in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[3] She specialized in employment law and natural resources law. 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.[3]

In August 2013, Justice Barton R. Voigt announced his retirement.[4] The Wyoming Judicial nominating commission submitted the names of three possible replacements to the Governor Matt Mead. Fox was one of the candidates, along with attorneys Patrick R. Day and Robert Tiedeken.[5]

Governor Matt Mead announced on November 21, 2013, that he had selected Fox for the vacancy.[5] She is the second woman appointed to the Wyoming Supreme Court, after Marylin S. Kite.[5] Fox began her service on the court in January 2014.[1]

Fox won a retention election in 2016, with 76 per cent of the vote, to complete the remaining two years of Justice Voigt's term.[6] She was re-elected to a new eight-year term in November 2018.[7] On July 1, 2021, Fox became Chief Justice after Michael K. Davis's term as Chief Justice ended. She is the second woman Chief Justice in Wyoming history.[8][9]

  1. ^ a b "Justice Kate M. Fox". Wyoming Supreme Court. Wyoming Judicial Branch. 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  2. ^ Pfund, Ross (July 2011). "Kate of All Trades". Mountain States Super Lawyers. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Kate M. Fox – Attorney at Law". David & Cannon. Davis & Cannon LLP. October 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Voigt to retire". Billings Gazette. Billings, Montana. August 27, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Barron, Joan (November 21, 2013). "Cheyenne attorney Kate Fox second woman named to Wyoming Supreme Court". Casper Star Tribune. Casper, Wyoming. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  6. ^ "Statewide Judicial Retentions Official Summary: Wyoming General Election – November 8, 2016" (PDF). Wyoming Secretary of State. State of Wyoming. 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "About the Supreme Court". Wyoming Supreme Court. Wyoming Judicial Branch. 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  8. ^ "NEWS RELEASE" (PDF). Wyoming Judicial Branch. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Gerst, Ellen (July 18, 2021). "New Chief Justice Kate Fox has her eyes on Wyoming". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved July 20, 2021.