TOPEKA—Amy Fellows Cline will be sworn in as a judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals at 11 a.m. Friday, February 26.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Court of Appeals YouTube channel.
Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger will preside over the ceremony, with only Cline's immediate family in attendance. Cline will be introduced by her friend and former law partner Paula Langworthy of Wichita, who will appear by videoconference.
Governor Laura Kelly appointed Cline on July 15 to fill a vacancy created by Judge G. Joseph Pierron Jr.'s April 30 retirement. The Kansas Senate confirmed Cline's appointment January 21.
Before her appointment to the court, Cline was an attorney at Triplett Woolf Garretson in Wichita since 2004. She has handled civil, criminal, and administrative law matters in state and federal courts. She also represented clients before the Kansas Corporation Commission, Kansas Department of Labor, Kansas Human Rights Commission, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Cline said her diverse legal experience was good preparation to be a judge on the Court of Appeals, which hears about 1,800 appeals a year from across the state.
"I have represented both plaintiffs and defendants, both individuals and businesses, in a wide variety of matters. That balance will help me understand and consider competing sides of issues," she said.
The Court of Appeals hears all appeals from district courts in both civil and criminal cases, except those that may be appealed directly to the Supreme Court. It also hears appeals from orders of the Kansas Corporation Commission. The court's 14 judges typically sit in panels of three judges to hear appeals.
Cline has argued cases before the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court and said the appellate courts are a key part of the judicial system.
"Appellate courts ensure the integrity of a reliable and fair judicial process by giving a voice to parties who feel wronged by another party and then by the system. Without judicial integrity, the public won’t trust the judicial process, and they won't respect the results," she said.
Cline said that as a lawyer, she sought to develop varied expertise and insight into how the law affects people’s lives. She said that knowledge will help guide her as a judge.
"I will strive to be the kind of judge I'd want to appear in front of as a lawyer. I will strive to be the kind of judge I'd want deciding my case as one of the parties. And I will strive to follow the standard voiced by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which is to read my opinions from the perspective of the losing party to ensure that, even if I did not like the result, I would understand the decision was fairly reasoned and grounded in the law," she said.
Biographical information
Cline graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science from Wichita State University in 1997. She received her law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2000. She was an attorney at Fleeson Gooing Coulson & Kitch in Wichita from 2000 to 2004.
She served as president of the Kansas Bar Foundation in 2018 and was president of Kansas Legal Services in 2014 and 2015. She has been active in the Kansas Bar Association, Wichita Bar Association, Kansas Women Attorneys Association, and Wesley E. Brown Inn of Court.
She received the Kansas Bar Foundation's Robert K. Weary Award in 2020; the Wichita Women Attorneys Association's Louise Mattox Award in 2017; the Wichita Bar Association's President’s Award in 2012; the Kansas Bar Association's Young Lawyer of the Year Award in 2006; and was the Wichita Business Journal's Women in Business Honoree in 2016 and “40 Under 40” Honoree in 2008.
Cline grew up in Valley Center, where she lives with her family.
In-person swearing-in ceremonies
Usually swearing-in ceremonies take place in the Kansas Supreme Court courtroom filled with guests, including current and past Court of Appeals judges and Supreme Court justices. Other guests include federal judges, district court judges, members of the legislative and executive branches, law related organizations, and the justice's family members and friends. Current restrictions on mass gatherings make an in-person ceremony impractical.
Retention elections
After a new judge serves one year on the court, he or she must stand for a retention vote in the next general election to remain in the position. If retained, the judge serves a four-year term.