Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Wyoming Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2024)
| Wyoming Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Kautz vacancy |
| Date: March 26, 2024 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Robert Jarosh |
| Date: January 19, 2024 |
Wyoming governor Mark Gordon (R) appointed Robert Jarosh to the Wyoming Supreme Court on January 19, 2024. He took office on March 27, 2024.[1] Jarosh replaces outgoing Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Keith G. Kautz, who retired on March 26, 2024. Jarosh is Gov. Gordon's second nominee to the five-member supreme court.
In Wyoming, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Wyoming Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- An overview of the selection process.
- Excerpts from media coverage of the nomination process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2024.
The appointee
- See also: Robert Jarosh
Jarosh earned his Bachelor of Science, Masters, and J.D. degrees from the University of Wyoming. [2]
Jarosh served as a law clerk for former United States District Court for the District of Wyoming judge William Beaman before going into private law practice in 2003. Jarosh is a partner at Hirst Applegate, LLP, a law firm in Cheyenne, Wyoming. [3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On December 26, 2023, the Wyoming Judicial Nominating Commission released a list of three finalists for the upcoming justice vacancy. From here, Governor Mark Gordon (R) will choose a candidate to appoint to the court. The finalists were:[4]
- Sixth District Court judge Stuart S. Healy III
- Attorney and professor Robert Jarosh
- Former state representative Tim Stubson[5][6]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Wyoming
In Wyoming, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Media coverage
This section includes excerpts from articles about the appointment process. Notably, after the Wyoming Judicial Nominating Commission released its list of three candidates to the upcoming vacancy, two state representatives submitted an editorial piece crticizing the commission's selection of Stubson as a finalist.
- Reps. Jeremy Haroldson and Mark Jennings, Guest Column: Tim Stubson Would Be Horrible Supreme Court Justice (December 28, 2023): "We are alarmed by the selection of Mr. Stubson, not because we disagree on nearly every political issue under the sun, but because of his active participation in divisive, partisan politics."[7]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Wyoming Supreme Court
Justices
Following Kautz's retirement, the Wyoming Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Lynne Boomgaarden | Appointed by Gov. Matt Mead (R) in 2017, and retained in 2020 | |
| ■ John G. Fenn | Appointed by Gov. Mark Gordon (R) in 2021 | |
| ■ Kate M. Fox | Appointed by Gov. Matt Mead (R) in 2013, and retained in 2016 | |
| ■ Kari Jo Gray | Appointed by Gov. Matt Mead (R) in 2018, and retained in 2020 |
About the court
| Wyoming Supreme Court |
|---|
|
| Court Information |
| Justices: 5 |
| Founded: 1889 |
| Location: Cheyenne |
| Salary |
| Associates: $187,250[8] |
| Judicial Selection |
| Method: Assisted appointment (hybrid) |
| Term: 8 years |
| Active justices |
| Lynne Boomgaarden, John G. Fenn, Kari Jo Gray, Bridget Hill, Robert Jarosh |
Founded in 1889, the Wyoming Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Lynne Boomgaarden as of the May 28, 2025.[9]
As of May 2025, all five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.
The Wyoming Supreme Court is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. [10]
In Wyoming, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
About Justice Kautz
- See also: Keith G. Kautz
Other state supreme court appointments in 2024
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2024
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2024. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2023.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Governor of Wyoming, "Governor Gordon Appoints Robert Jarosh to the Wyoming Supreme Court," January 19, 2024
- ↑ ‘’Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, "Governor Gordon Appoints Robert Jarosh to the Wyoming Supreme Court," January 19, 2024
- ↑ ‘’Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, "Governor Gordon Appoints Robert Jarosh to the Wyoming Supreme Court," January 19, 2024
- ↑ Candidates are listed in alphabetical order, by last name
- ↑ The Cheyenne Post, "Judicial Nominating Commission Announces Nominees for Wyoming Supreme Court Vacancy," December 26, 2023
- ↑ Cowboy State Daily, "A Look At The Three Finalists Named To Fill Vacancy On Wyoming Supreme Court," December 29, 2023
- ↑ Cowboy State Daily, "Guest Column: Tim Stubson Would Be Horrible Supreme Court Justice," December 28, 2023
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ Facebook, "Wyoming State Bar," accessed June 2, 2025
- ↑ Wyoming Judicial Branch, "About the Supreme Court," accessed August 12, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Wyoming • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Wyoming
State courts:
Wyoming Supreme Court • Wyoming District Courts • Wyoming Circuit Courts • Wyoming Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wyoming • Wyoming judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wyoming
| |||||||
