TOPEKA—When Justice Marla Luckert renews her oath of office in an investiture ceremony at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, she will become the second woman to serve as chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.
The ceremony will take place in front of an invited audience in the Supreme Court Courtroom in the Kansas Judicial Center. A live internet broadcast of the investiture will available online by following the Watch Supreme Court Live! link from the judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org starting at 3 p.m.
The oath is the same for all justices and judges in the appellate courts and in all district courts across Kansas.
It reads:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Kansas, and faithfully discharge the duties of the office, so help me God."
When Luckert's term as chief justice begins, it will be the first time in the history of the Kansas judicial branch that a woman has held the chief justice position on the Supreme Court and the chief judge position on the Court of Appeals. Judge Karen Arnold-Burger has served as chief judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals since 2017.
Luckert succeeds Lawton Nuss, who retires Tuesday after serving 17 years on the Supreme Court and 10 years as chief justice.
The Kansas Constitution states that the justice who is senior in continuous term of service will serve as chief justice.
Governor Bill Graves appointed Luckert to the Supreme Court in 2002. She had been chief judge of the 3rd Judicial District, which is composed of Shawnee County, for three years. She was the first woman to be appointed a chief judge of a judicial district in Kansas.
Luckert is a fourth-generation native of Sherman County. She has been a Shawnee County resident since enrolling at Washburn University for her undergraduate studies. She earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1977, then received a law degree in 1980 at Washburn University School of Law.
After working 12 years in private practice, she was appointed a district judge for the 3rd Judicial District in 1992.
Luckert has been married 40 years and has three children and two grandchildren.
The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the state court system and it is composed of seven justices. A Supreme Court decision sets binding legal precedent that lower courts must follow. The court approves rules of procedure and practice used throughout courts in Kansas. Under the Kansas Constitution, the court has supervisory authority over the entire judicial branch of government and over all judicial officers and court employees.