Biography of Chief Justice Nuss
(Click here to read the 2016 survey results for Chief Justice Nuss)
(Click here to read the 2016 survey results for Chief Justice Nuss)
Copied from the Kansas Judicial Branch website:
Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss is a fourth-generation Kansan. After graduating from Salina High School, he attended the University of Kansas on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship. He graduated in January 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He then served as a combat engineering officer with the Fleet Marine Force Pacific. After his discharge in 1979, he entered law school at the University of Kansas and graduated in May 1982.Chief Justice Nuss began his law practice with the Salina firm of Clark Mize & Linville, Chartered in August 1982. For the next 20 years, he was involved in a wide range of legal issues and proceedings. He represented corporations and individuals as plaintiffs as well as defendants in civil cases. He also represented the government as well as defendants in criminal cases. Based upon surveys of judges and fellow lawyers, during this time he was awarded an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, that national organization's highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics.
Chief Justice Nuss' professional activities while a lawyer included serving as Chairman of the Board of Editors for the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association; as President of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, where he also received the Distinguished Service Award and the Defense Research Institute Exceptional Performance Citation; as President of the Saline-Ottawa County Bar Association; and as a mediator for the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Chief Justice Nuss also served as Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. John's Military School, the Board of Directors of the Salina Child Care Association, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Salina Public Library, the Board of Advisors of the Coronado Area Council of Boy Scouts, and the Site Council for Roosevelt-Lincoln Middle School.
Nuss was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Bill Graves in August 2002, becoming the first Court member in more than 20 years to move directly from the practice of law to the bench. He became Chief Justice in August 2010.
As Chief Justice, Nuss presides over the Supreme Court during its exercise of general administrative authority over all courts in the state. In addition to those duties, he also serves as the Supreme Court liaison to the Kansas District Judges' Association. He previously served as Chairman of the Kansas Judicial Council, and as the Supreme Court liaison for the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, the Client Protection Fund Commission, and the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters.
On the national level, Chief Justice Nuss is a member of the Conference of Chief Justices, an organization composed of the top judicial officers of each state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. A past member of the Conference's Board of Directors, he currently serves as the Conference's vice-chair of the Court Management Committee and as a member of its Civil Justice Committee and its Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee. Chief Justice Nuss is a member of the Kansas and Topeka Bar Associations. He was selected in 2011 to participate in the Henry Toll Fellowship, a nationwide leadership development program for highly recognized state leaders. In 2015 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Kanas School of Law. Nuss has been named an honorary Marshal of Dodge City and has served as a judge of the National Cowboy (Poetry) Rodeo.
Chief Justice Nuss is a graduate of the Appellate Judges School at New York University School of Law and the United States Naval Justice School of Newport, Rhode Island. He is also the author of several published legal and historical articles and is a frequent presenter for legal and lay audiences.
Chief Justice Nuss has seven grown children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife live in Topeka.
Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss is a fourth-generation Kansan. After graduating from Salina High School, he attended the University of Kansas on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship. He graduated in January 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He then served as a combat engineering officer with the Fleet Marine Force Pacific. After his discharge in 1979, he entered law school at the University of Kansas and graduated in May 1982.Chief Justice Nuss began his law practice with the Salina firm of Clark Mize & Linville, Chartered in August 1982. For the next 20 years, he was involved in a wide range of legal issues and proceedings. He represented corporations and individuals as plaintiffs as well as defendants in civil cases. He also represented the government as well as defendants in criminal cases. Based upon surveys of judges and fellow lawyers, during this time he was awarded an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, that national organization's highest rating for legal ability and professional ethics.
Chief Justice Nuss' professional activities while a lawyer included serving as Chairman of the Board of Editors for the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association; as President of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, where he also received the Distinguished Service Award and the Defense Research Institute Exceptional Performance Citation; as President of the Saline-Ottawa County Bar Association; and as a mediator for the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Chief Justice Nuss also served as Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. John's Military School, the Board of Directors of the Salina Child Care Association, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Salina Public Library, the Board of Advisors of the Coronado Area Council of Boy Scouts, and the Site Council for Roosevelt-Lincoln Middle School.
Nuss was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Bill Graves in August 2002, becoming the first Court member in more than 20 years to move directly from the practice of law to the bench. He became Chief Justice in August 2010.
As Chief Justice, Nuss presides over the Supreme Court during its exercise of general administrative authority over all courts in the state. In addition to those duties, he also serves as the Supreme Court liaison to the Kansas District Judges' Association. He previously served as Chairman of the Kansas Judicial Council, and as the Supreme Court liaison for the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, the Client Protection Fund Commission, and the Kansas Board of Examiners of Court Reporters.
On the national level, Chief Justice Nuss is a member of the Conference of Chief Justices, an organization composed of the top judicial officers of each state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. A past member of the Conference's Board of Directors, he currently serves as the Conference's vice-chair of the Court Management Committee and as a member of its Civil Justice Committee and its Access, Fairness and Public Trust Committee. Chief Justice Nuss is a member of the Kansas and Topeka Bar Associations. He was selected in 2011 to participate in the Henry Toll Fellowship, a nationwide leadership development program for highly recognized state leaders. In 2015 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Kanas School of Law. Nuss has been named an honorary Marshal of Dodge City and has served as a judge of the National Cowboy (Poetry) Rodeo.
Chief Justice Nuss is a graduate of the Appellate Judges School at New York University School of Law and the United States Naval Justice School of Newport, Rhode Island. He is also the author of several published legal and historical articles and is a frequent presenter for legal and lay audiences.
Chief Justice Nuss has seven grown children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife live in Topeka.