A photo blog depicting contemporary courthouses in the Western United States.
Monday, July 21, 2025
Judges, lawyers describe perils of attacking judiciary at Grand Teton National Park gathering
Friday, July 4, 2025
Lex Anteinternet: Governor Gordon Appoints Keith Kautz Attorney General
Governor Gordon Appoints Keith Kautz Attorney General
This is a great choice by Governor Gordon.
Governor Gordon Appoints Keith Kautz Attorney General
July 02, 2025
Governor Mark Gordon has announced the appointment of Keith Kautz as Attorney General beginning July 7, 2025. Kautz replaces Ryan Schelhaas, who is serving as interim Attorney General following the departure of Bridget Hill.
Kautz served as a justice on the Wyoming Supreme Court from 2015 until 2024, when he turned 70 and was required by Wyoming’s Constitution to retire from the bench. From 1993 until 2015 he served as a District Court Judge for the Eighth District covering Converse, Goshen, Niobrara, and Platte counties. He previously served as a private practice attorney in Torrington as a partner in the firm Sawyer, Warren & Kautz. Kautz grew up in Torrington and earned his Bachelors and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Wyoming.
“When accepting my offer to serve as Wyoming’s 39th Attorney General, I was delighted to hear Justice Kautz quote George Washington who, when selecting our country’s first attorney general, stated that ‘the due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good Government,’” Governor Gordon said. “I share that view, and know that Justice Kautz has the talent, experience and skill to fulfill this important duty, as well as provide the due administration of justice to the people of Wyoming. We are fortunate that he desires to continue to serve our great state, and I look forward to his leadership in this most essential office.”
“I am honored to serve Wyoming, and to work with the outstanding staff at the Attorney General’s office,” Kautz said.
The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office is the legal advisor for the State of Wyoming. In addition to providing a full range of legal services to statewide elected officials, agencies, and State employees in the conduct of official State business, the Attorney General’s Office is Wyoming’s primary State law enforcement agency. The Office provides a full spectrum of services, ranging from statewide criminal investigations performed by the Division of Criminal Investigation; initial and advanced law enforcement training provided by the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy; and crime victim advocacy and victim support programs and payments through the Division of Victim Services. The Attorney General’s Office also provides administrative support to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Wyoming Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.
I can't help but feel that part of the reason that Gordon brought Justice Kautz out of retirement for this position is his calm, steady, demeanor. Kautz was a widely admired district court judge and then supreme court justice, who was completely unflappable. Recently he demonstrated that in regard to a comment on the case regarding abortion in front of the supreme court, in which he openly cited to religion and prayer.
He'll be in charge of advancing the Governor and state's interest in that regards, which has been to restrict and ban abortion. Added to that, however, Governor Gordon has been repeatedly faced with needling from Secretary of State Gray, who has used that office to grandstand. Chance are that Kautz's calm demeanor was in mind in regard to that as well.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
Condemn attacks on judiciary, Wyoming lawyers and judges urge delegation
Condemn attacks on judiciary, Wyoming lawyers and judges urge delegation: More than 100 members of the state’s legal community, including four retired Supreme Court justices, implored Sens. Barrasso and Lummis and Rep. Hageman to resist “reckless disdain” for the courts.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Monday, August 19, 2024
Painted Bricks: Aviator statue. Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Monday, May 13, 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Why Law School Should Be an Undergraduate Program — Minding The Campus
Why Law School Should Be an Undergraduate Program — Minding The Campus: In most parts of the world, lawyers are formally trained in an undergraduate degree program. The Bachelor of Law (LL.B), is also an accelerated three-year curriculum. In the United States it takes over twice as long. First you need a 4-year undergraduate degree in any subject—a gratuitous requirement, as there is no such thing as […]
Thoughts?
I'm not sure that I agree, but there'es something to the suggestion.
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Railhead: Rail Features. Thyra Thompson Building, Casper Wyoming. Chancery Court.
Rail Features. Thyra Thompson Building, Casper Wyoming.
The building is built right over what had been the Great Northwest rail yard in Casper, which was still an active, although not too active, rail yard into my teens. I can't really recall when they abandoned the line, but it was abandoned.
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Today In Wyoming's History: U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act.
U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act.
The United States Supreme Court, contrary to many expectations, including many in the legislature, upheld today the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Lex Anteinternet: Biden Nominates Kentaji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court
Biden Nominates Kentaji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court
Monday, October 11, 2021
Blog Mirror: Practicing During Covid
This article is an absolute classic. The best written work to come out of the pandemic.
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Blog Mirror. Lex Anteinternet: Wednesday, January 29, 1919. Inns At Court
Hors de combat.
Wednesday, January 29, 1919. Colonies in issue, Secret Treaties Exposed, Immigration to be halted, State Prohibition Bill Advances as 18th Amendment Certified, Mexican Rebels reported defeated again, and Yanks can Marry By Mail.
The Peace Treaty was struggling on what to do with the colonies of the defeated. Giving them nation status, unless they were European, seemed out of the question, so League of Nation mandates were being argued about instead.
The 18th Amendment was certified by Congress as ratified, but the State was still going to pass a prohibition bill anyhow, showing that the desire to act on the already acted upon purposelessly already existed. There was no reason to pass any Prohibition bill in Wyoming, but the Legislature was going to do it anyway.
And American soldiers could marry their sweethearts by mail, it was decided, exchanging vows by correspondence, apparently. The validity of that in certain faiths, it might be noted, would be questionable.
As, in most cases, would be the purpose. Separated by an ocean, the couples were not going to reunite until Johnny Came Marching Home anyhow. And if he was going to instead find the Belle de France in la belle France. . . well that was probably going to happen anyhow as well. About the only reason to do this would be to resolve questions of impending legitimacy, which perhaps would have been a concern in some instances.
And the economy was tanking while there were vast numbers of Europeans who were refugees, which no doubt put focus on immigration and which was accordingly being addressed in Congress.
Among the refugees were the Armenians. Their plight was well known but it had not been addressed.
Apparently, to my huge surprise, leaving for Florida in the winter was already a thing. I would not have guessed that at all, once again showing the application of Holscher's First Law of History.
Elsewhere, Mexican rebels were reported as defeated, once again.
New counties were a hot issue in the Legislature as well.
And a Laramie policeman was compelled to draw his pistol when in s scuffle with somebody who was thought to be speaking German.
Laramie, fwiw, had a German language church early on and, I think, at this time, so a Laramie resident who could speak German wouldn't be that odd. Let alone that its a university town where, presumably, some people were still learning the language.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Lex Anteinternet: Monday At The Bar: Forgetting the past so we can ...
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Lex Anteinternet: What Are You Reading?
Stop over and let us know what you're reading!What are you reading?
A new trailing thread, dedicated to what we're currently reading.
And. . . we hope. . . with participation from you.
What are you reading right now? Add it down in the commentary section
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June 21, 2016
Give Me Eighty Men
I'm presently reading Give Me Eighty Men by Shannon Smith. It's a history of the Fetterman Fight, and a history of the history of the Fetterman Fight. I'll review it when I'm done, but I'll note that the favorable mention of the book by the authors of The Heart of All That Is caused me to pick it up, even though I'd been inclined to previously avoid it.
So far, I'm enjoying it, and its certainly raising a lot questions in my mind about the Fetterman battle, although I'm reserving my judgment on various things so far.
That thread: What Are You Reading?