Judge Sarah Warner selected as chief judge of Court of Appeals

TOPEKA—The Kansas Supreme Court has selected Judge Sarah Warner to serve as chief judge of the 14-member Kansas Court of Appeals beginning January 13.
 
Warner will succeed Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger, who will continue to serve on the Court of Appeals after her second four-year term as chief judge ends.
 
“Chief Judge Arnold-Burger has provided outstanding leadership during the past eight years, and I know I have big shoes to fill,” Warner said. “But it’s been the honor of my life to be a Court of Appeals judge, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve our court and judicial system in this way.”
 
Warner has been a Court of Appeals judge since 2019. As chief judge, she will determine venues for arguments, designate cases to be heard by three-judge panels, and assign judges to panels.

“Judge Warner’s commitment to the rule of law is evident through her service on the Court of Appeals and her involvement in the legal community,” said Chief Justice Marla Luckert. “We value the experience she brings to the appellate courts, the Kansas judicial system, and this leadership role.”
 
Before Warner was appointed to the Court of Appeals, she was a partner in a Lawrence law firm. She was active in civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal court.
 
Warner is a sixth-generation Kansan who grew up in Pittsburg. She graduated from the University of Kansas, where she completed majors with honors and distinction in French, international studies, mathematics, and political science.
 
She earned her law degree from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated magna cum laude, was a senior editor of the Ave Maria Law Review, and at commencement received the highest award given to a law school graduate.
 
After law school, Warner served as chambers counsel for Chief Justice Robert Davis of the Kansas Supreme Court.

Warner is a past president of the Kansas Bar Association and served as a member of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys.
 
Warner has taught Conflict of Laws and Appellate Practice at Washburn University School of Law since 2009. She was named the school’s Adjunct Professor of the Year in 2018, 2020, and 2022. In 2023 she was recognized by the law school’s alumni association with a lifetime honorary membership.
 
Warner is an active member of the Uniform Law Commission, to which she was appointed in 2022. She is the associate budget director for the American Bar Association’s judicial division. She is co-editor of the Kansas Bar Association’s Annual Survey of Law and has chaired the Kansas Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Committee on Best Practices in Eviction Proceedings since 2021.