TOPEKA—Sarah Warner will be sworn in as judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals at 2 p.m. Thursday, August 8, in the Supreme Court courtroom in the Kansas Judicial Center, Topeka.
VIDEO: Warner talks about her appointment
Court of Appeals Chief Judge Karen Arnold-Burger will preside over the ceremony.
The public can access a live webcast of the ceremony by following the Watch Supreme Court Live! link in the right-hand column of the Kansas judicial branch website at www.kscourts.org.
Warner was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Laura Kelly on May 14 and her appointment was confirmed by the Kansas Senate on May 29.
Prior to her appointment, Warner was a partner in the law firm Thompson Warner, P.A., in Lawrence. In addition to briefing and arguing cases before the trial and appellate courts in her civil litigation practice, she provided consulting services for lawyers preparing to appear before the Kansas and federal appellate courts.
Warner has taught classes at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka for the past 10 years, including a course in Appellate Practice she designed, and was named Washburn law school's Adjunct Professor of the Year in May 2018.
Warner grew up in Pittsburg. She was a National Merit Scholar at the University of Kansas, where she earned a bachelor's degree in French, international studies, mathematics, and political science in 2003.
She received her law degree in 2006 from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she received a full scholarship after scoring in the 99th percentile on the law school admission test. She graduated magna cum laude, was senior editor of the Ave Maria Law Review, and at commencement received the highest award given to a law school graduate.
During law school she worked as a law clerk for the Burchfield, Park & Pollesch law firm in Brighton, Michigan, and was an intern for former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Young Jr.
After graduating from Ave Maria, Warner was a research attorney for Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Davis from 2006 to 2009.
This year, Warner was named to the "40 Under Forty" list of young professionals by Ingram's Magazine, Kansas City, Mo.
She is the immediate past president of the Kansas Bar Association. She previously served as president of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel (for attorneys who defend civil cases) and the Douglas County Bar Association. She was a member of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys from 2014 until her appointment to the appellate court.
She is active in Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, Lenexa, where she directs the parish folk music group, and she has completed two half ironman triathlons.
Warner replaces Patrick McAnany, who retired January 14 after 15 years as a Court of Appeals judge.