TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court has selected Judge Karen Arnold-Burger to serve as chief judge of the 14-member Kansas Court of Appeals beginning January 9.
Arnold-Burger will succeed Chief Judge Thomas J. Malone, who will continue to serve on the Court of Appeals after his four-year term as chief judge ends.
"My proudest professional achievement has been to serve on the Kansas Court of Appeals, so I am extremely honored to be chosen to lead the court as chief judge," Arnold-Burger said. "I look forward to carrying on the good work of our court and following the leadership example of my predecessors, particularly Chief Judge Malone."
Arnold-Burger has been a Court of Appeals judge since 2011. As chief judge, she will determine venues for arguments, designate cases to be heard by three-judge panels, and assign judges to panels.
"The Supreme Court is pleased that Judge Arnold-Burger will assume this leadership position for the Court of Appeals," said Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. "She's a skilled judge with a record of many professional accomplishments. We look forward to working with her in this new capacity."
Before she was appointed to the Court of Appeals, Arnold-Burger was a municipal court judge and then presiding municipal court judge in Overland Park, Assistant U.S. Attorney in Kansas City, Kansas, and First Assistant City Attorney for the City of Overland Park. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law, where she previously served on the Board of Governors.
Her professional accomplishments include serving as president of the Johnson County Bar Association, the Kansas Municipal Judges Association, and the Earl E. O'Connor Inn of Court. She has been an adjunct faculty member at the National Judicial College since 2000 and was elected by fellow faculty to serve on the Faculty Council beginning in 2010. She is a graduate of the Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education at the University of Memphis and is a frequent presenter at judicial education programs nationwide.
She's received many awards, including the Robert V. Payant Award for Teaching Excellence from the National Judicial College, which she received in 2016, and the Justinian Award for Professional Excellence by the Johnson County Bar Association, an award given annually to an attorney who exemplifies integrity, service to the community, and service to the legal profession. Others include the Outstanding Service Award from the Kansas Bar Association; the Warren W. Shaw Distinguished Service Award from the Topeka Bar Association; the Kay McFarland Award from the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National Public Safety Award; and the Community Outreach and Education Award from the Kansas District Judges Association.
Arnold-Burger designed a judicial outreach project, "A Wrong of Passage," that is used by judges all over the country and has grown into an organization that focuses community support on the issue of underage drinking. She was awarded the Regional Prevention Center Founder's Award in 2008 and a scholarship was named after her.