TOPEKA—Chief Judge James Fleetwood will retire June 29 after more than 22 years of service.
He has been the longest-serving chief judge of the 18th Judicial District, which is composed of Sedgwick County. The Kansas Supreme Court appointed him chief judge in 2009.
Fleetwood first ran for election as a district judge in 1996.
His focus as a judge has been technology and public access to the court system, he said.
"The goal has been to make the court system immediately available to lawyers as well as the public," he said.
Under his leadership, Sedgwick County was the first district court in the state to require electronic filing of court documents. Fleetwood also oversaw the development of a paperless court system, a website that serves as a portal to the courts, and a self-help center for people trying to access the legal system on their own.
"It's been a long course getting there, but I've really enjoyed that," he said.
He also has been involved in the judicial branch's project to implement a statewide centralized case management system, which will launch in the first two judicial districts later this summer and eventually in all district and appellate courts. The system will allow all district and appellate case data to reside on a single web-based platform, transforming the way state courts serve the people of Kansas.
Fleetwood's efforts over the years are not solely about technology, he said, but "to make court services and court information available to the public."
Fleetwood didn't immediately go into law. After earning bachelor's degrees in Mandarin and Asian studies from Brigham Young University, he was vice president of an insurance agency in Utah.
He then enrolled at Washburn University School of Law, where he graduated in 1989. He first worked as an attorney for Koch Industries in Wichita in environmental compliance, then opened a private law practice.
As a judge in the 18th Judicial District, Fleetwood needed to return to voters every four years to be re-elected. He served as chief judge, however, at the direction of the Supreme Court and, as such, has had general control over case assignments within the district and general supervisory authority over the administrative and clerical functions of the court. Those duties were in addition to his judicial responsibilities.
Although he is retiring from the Sedgwick County bench, Fleetwood is not leaving the court system. He will become a senior judge and will be appointed by the Supreme Court to work on an as-needed basis in district and appellate courts statewide.
"My retirement is more of moving on to newer responsibilities," he said.
Fleetwood said the fact he's lived in the state longer than any other place—and with children and grandchildren living here—he now considers himself a Kansan. In addition to working as a senior judge, he intends to pursue his hobbies of woodworking and playing Highland bagpipes.
In judicial districts where judges are elected by partisan ballot, state statute requires the governor to select a replacement to complete a vacated term of office. Fleetwood was last elected to a four-year term in 2016.