TOPEKA—Kansas Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss was appointed to the Conference of Chief Justices’ Board of Directors during the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) annual meeting on July 31 in Burlington, Vermont.
“When I consider all the talented people in the Conference of Chief Justices, I am greatly honored by this appointment,” Chief Justice Nuss said shortly after being selected.
Kansas Governor Bill Graves appointed Nuss to the Supreme Court in August 2002. Nuss became the first Court member in more than 20 years to move directly from the practice of law to the bench. He became Chief Justice in August 2010.
Prior to his promotion with the court, Chief Justice Nuss began his law practice with the Salina firm of Clark, Mize & Linville, Chartered in August 1982. For the next 20 years, he was involved in a wide range of legal issues and proceedings. He represented the prosecution and the defense in various criminal matters and the plaintiff and the defendant in different civil matters. Chief Justice Nuss is a member of the American, Kansas, and Topeka Bar Associations. He was appointed an honorary Marshal of Dodge City in 2010, and in 2011 was selected to participate in the Henry Toll Fellowship, a nationwide leadership development program for highly recognized state leaders.
Chief Justice Nuss graduated from the University of Kansas in 1975, the United States Naval Justice School of Newport, Rhode Island in 1977, and the University of Kansas School of Law in 1982. In between obtaining his degrees from the University of Kansas, Nuss served in the United States Marine Corps as a combat engineering officer in the Western Pacific.
The Conference of Chief Justices was founded in 1949 and is comprised of the top judicial officers of each state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The national court association promotes the interests and effectiveness of state judicial systems by developing policies and educational programs designed to improve court operations. CCJ also acts as the primary representative of the state courts before Congress and federal executive agencies.
The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.