Shawnee County judge receives judicial excellence award

TOPEKA—The Kansas District Judges Association presented its annual Award for Judicial Excellence to Judge C. William Ossmann during a recent statewide conference for judges.
 
Ossmann, who serves in the 3rd Judicial District, which is Shawnee County, said he was surprised, honored, and humbled by the recognition.
 
“I know of the judges who had received this award and of their accomplishments,” he said. “I also know of other judges who were equally if not more deserving of the recognition. I felt there must have been a mistake to include me in their number, but I thought I’d show up anyway.”
 
Ossmann is a 1977 graduate of Washburn University School of Law. He entered private practice after graduation, but soon moved to the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office, where he served between 1978 and 1993 as an assistant district attorney and later first assistant district attorney.
 
After his time as a prosecutor, he was an attorney with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and later chief litigation counsel for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, which later became known as the Kansas Department for Children and Families. He  was appointed to the bench in 2012.
 
For the 3rd Judicial District, he presides over the drug court and veterans treatment court and is chair of the criminal department. He served two terms on the Kansas Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Committee and was chair from 2019 to 2023.
 
Judges Mary Mattivi and Lori Dougherty-Bichsel, also of the 3rd Judicial District, presented the award to Ossmann. They said a judge who embodies judicial excellence is one who demonstrates knowledge of the law and justice system, leads with ethics and integrity, demonstrates engagement with court users, and builds respect and understanding of the court process.
 
“Judge Ossmann has consistently demonstrated these qualities throughout his lengthy career in public service and specifically his service in the judicial branch,” Dougherty-Bichsel said.
 
The judges also praised Ossmann’s commitment to legal education in Kansas, citing his 31 years of teaching at Washburn University School of Law, where he is the longest-serving adjunct professor and has been named Adjunct Professor of the Year four times. He also takes classroom instruction on the road as director and instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s public service program in Kansas.
 
On receiving the award, Ossmann likened the feeling to that of Sally Field at the 57th Academy Awards.
 
“A memorable line from her speech has been frequently misquoted as, ‘You like me. You really, really like me,’” he said. “At the 1985 ceremony, Field actually said, ‘I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!’”
 
But more importantly, Ossmann said it’s a time for reflection.
 
“It means that I can celebrate the things I’ve done and tried to do to this point in my life on and off the bench with my friends and the people with whom I have had the honor to work,” he said.
 
For attorneys aspiring to join the bench, Ossmann has practical advice.
 
“First, be a good lawyer,” he said. “Be prepared; read the rules; learn to write really, really well; be on time; safeguard your reputation; and be active in the bar and in your community.”