TOPEKA—Court of Appeals Chief Judge Gary W. Rulon today announced his retirement from the Court, effective at the end of his term in January, which will mark the completion of 30 years as a Kansas judge.
Chief Judge Rulon has been a member of the Court of Appeals since 1988, and has been Chief Judge since 2001. Before that, he served seven years as the Chief Judge of the two-county 5th Judicial District, which includes Chase and Lyon counties.
While Chief Judge of the 5th Judicial District, Rulon opened previously closed court records and volunteered the district to be one of four judicial districts to pilot a program allowing court proceedings to be televised. Cameras and audio recorders have since been permitted statewide at all levels of the courts on a permanent basis.
Rulon continued his open and transparent judicial philosophy as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and after 23 years on the Court has never declined a media request for camera or audio coverage of an appellate proceeding. “I just believe in open and transparent government if at all possible,” Chief Judge Rulon said.
While on the Court of Appeals, the Legislature authorized that Court to be expanded from seven members when Rulon was appointed to 13 positions currently funded. He said there has been a tremendous increase in appeals brought about by adoption of the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act and decisions of the U.S. and Kansas Supreme Courts. “Through administrative streamlining, long hours, and dedication by Court of Appeals judges and staff, I believe the Court’s dockets are now in pretty good shape,” Chief Judge Rulon said.
Among accomplishments in the legislative arena, Rulon was instrumental in enactment of a highly successful Senior Judge Program in which a limited number of retired judges are permitted to work 40 percent of the time for 25 percent of a judicial salary. Some of the retired judges have been assigned to assist the Court of Appeals with its caseload, while others are assigned to high volume district courts. One of the retired judges participating in the program is Judge J. Patrick Brazil, who also served as a Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. Judge Brazil said the Senior Judge program is a “great way” to remain active in the legal community, while saving taxpayers money through their use, instead of appointing additional full-time judges and staffs.
“Chief Judge Rulon was right on when he promoted the Senior Judge concept to the Legislature,” Brazil said Wednesday. “That, though, is just one facet of Chief Judge Rulon’s multi-talented legal and administrative mindset. His written opinions have been equally on point, well written, clear and legally sound. We don’t keep track of Court of Appeals reversals by higher courts, but I would venture to say that reversal of an opinion authored by Chief Judge Rulon would be a very rare occurrence.”
Rulon said in his letter to Governor Mark Parkinson announcing his intention to retire that he appreciates “the efforts of the past and present legislative and executive branch leaders who have provided the resources the Court of Appeals needed to keep pace with our ever increasing caseload. Above all, I am thankful to the citizens of Kansas who have given me the opportunity to serve the public for the past thirty years. Rulon said he and his wife, Pat, are “anxious to travel, enjoy time with our two daughters’ families, which include six grandchildren, and pursue educational opportunities.”
Before Rulon’s appointment to the bench, he was in private practice of law in Emporia for 8 years, served as an attorney in Central Staff of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, and lectured at Emporia State University.
Rulon is a graduate of the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, a member of the Council of Chief Judges of the State courts of Appeal and the Kansas Bar Association. He has been a member and vice chairman of the Kansas Sentencing committee, a past coordinator for the Kansas Bar Continuing Legal Education Seminars on Title Insurance and Federal Practice, past faculty member of Trial Tactics & Techniques Seminars, and a speaker at the National Conference on Court Delay Reduction.