Hon. Kem Thompson Frost
Kem Thompson Frost, chief justice of Texasās Court of Appeals-14th District, has been named a 2019 Outstanding Texas Leader and inducted into the Texas Leadership Hall of Fame by JBS Public Leadership Institute at The University of Texas-Permian Basin. Chief Justice Frost has served on the Texas judiciary for two decades. She received her LLM from Duke Law in 2014. Read MoreĀ»
New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert J. Lynn was honored by the stateās bar association with the 2019 Justice William A. Grimes Award for Outstanding Judicial Professionalism. The award honors a judge who is known for being a person āof learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals and great patience.ā Lynn retired in August after 27 years on the supreme and superior trial courts. Read MoreĀ»
M. Margaret McKeown was presented with the John Marshall Award at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in August. Judge McKeown, who was the first female partner of the law firm Perkins Coie LLP and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1998, has been a leader on gender issues, judicial ethics, and international rule of law. In the wake of #metoo, she was named by Chief Justice John Roberts to the national Workplace Environment Working Group. Read MoreĀ»
William E. Smith, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, received the 2019 Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger Judicial Excellence Award. Named in honor of its first recipient, retired Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger, the award is given to a Rhode Island jurist for exemplifying and encouraging the highest level of competence, integrity, judicial temperament, ethical conduct, and professionalism. Read MoreĀ»
Hon. Duane Slone
Duane Slone of the Circuit Court in the Fourth Judicial District of Tennessee received the National Center for State Courtās William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. The award is presented by the Chief Justice of the United States and honors a state court judge who demonstrates integrity, fairness, and other qualities; Slone was recognized for his innovative judicial work in addressing the opioid epidemic. His motivation is both professional and personal; in 2011, Judge Slone and his wife, Gretchen, adopted an infant son who had suffered opioid withdrawals from his birth motherās use. Read MoreĀ»
Hon. Carl E. Stewart
Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit received the 2019 Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award. The award āhonors an Article III judge who has achieved a distinguished career and made significant contributions to the administration of justice, the advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of society.ā This yearās selection committee, chaired by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, recognized Judge Stewart for having ādemonstrated his commitment to decency, civility, fairness, and justice.ā Read MoreĀ»
North Carolina Court of Appeals Chief Judge Linda McGee received the state chief justiceās Friend of the Court award. Judge McGee chairs the Celebrate North Carolina Courts Committee and has overseen anniversary celebrations for the stateās judicial branch, including the 50th anniversary of the district courts in 2016, the 240th anniversary of the superior courts and 50th anniversary of the court of appeals in 2017, and the 200th anniversary of the Supreme Court in 2019. Read MoreĀ»
Hon. Linda McGee (left) with NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley
The Hawaii Supreme Court bestowed its annual Jurist of the Year Award on First Circuit Court Judge Gary W.B. Chang. Judge Chang was honored for promoting professionalism in the courtroom and leading the launch of an electronic filing system for civil cases in the stateās circuit courts. Read MoreĀ»
Hon. Denise Owens
The Mississippi Bar awarded the Judicial Excellence Award to Judge Denise Owens of the stateās Fifth Chancery Court District. The award ārecognizes an exceptional judge who is an example of judicial excellence, a leader in advancing the quality and efficiency of justice and a person of high ideals, character and integrity.ā Judge Owens took her seat on the court in 1989 and has served as the vice chair of the state bar associationās Delivery of Legal Services Committee and a University of Mississippi law professor. Read MoreĀ»
Scott M. Bernstein, of the Florida Eleventh Circuit, and David L. Denkin, of Floridaās Sarasota County courts, received the stateās 2019 Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence. Judge Bernstein was recognized for āhis intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledgeā and efforts to improve the quality of the judiciary, both for court users and for court employees. Judge Denkin was honored for his ārecord of personal contributions to the judicial branch and sterling reputation for professionalismā and for serving as a leader, teacher, and mentor. Read MoreĀ»
Hon. Hilary A. Chittick
The Judicial Council of California awarded its Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given by the state court systemās governing body, to Presiding Justice Dennis M. Perluss of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Seven in Los Angeles, and to Judge Hilary A. Chittick of the Fresno County Superior Court, for embodying the judicial branchās highest purpose āto ensure that every Californian has equal access to justice.ā Read MoreĀ»
Arizona Supreme Court justices honored their own Chief Justice Scott Bales with the Outstanding Service to the Arizona Courts Award for 2019. Justice Bales retired in July. Read MoreĀ»
