Justice in Transition Technology, Tradition, and the Judges Who Bridged Both

• Citation: Vol. 48 No. 3 Pg. 14
• Year: 2025
• Pages: 14

Justice in Transition technology, tradition, and the judges who bridged both No. Vol. 48 No. 3 Pg. 14 Wyoming Bar Journal June 1, 2025

Justice in Transition technology, tradition, and the judges who bridged both

by Mary Angell

Hon. Kate M. Fox

Hon. Steven S. Sharpe

Two prominent Wyoming judges retired last month after more than 10 years on the bench. As they prepared to begin a new chapter in their lives, they each spoke with the Wyoming Lawyer about the changes they've witnessed during their tenures, the challenges they believe are ahead for the judiciary and their confidence in the younger generation of judges.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox announced her retirement because the Wyoming Constitution requires Supreme Court justices and district court judges to retire at the age of 70—not because she was ready to leave the court.

"It's hard to leave a job I love," Fox said. "I'm going to miss doing something I like to think manages to help people. It's been a great job. I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it. Now I'm going to try something else."

Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe, who was appointed to the First Judicial District Court in November 2012, said he's looking forward to traveling and spending more time with his children and grandchildren. But he still finds it difficult to walk away from the job.

"I've enjoyed it greatly," Sharpe said of his time as a district court judge. "The opportunity to serve in this position has been the honor of a lifetime. I'm greatly going to miss my colleagues on the bench and wonderful staff."

Both commented on the significant increase in the use of technology in the courtroom over the last decade. Technology has changed the way attorneys submit filings, the type of evidence used in trials and how defendants appear before the court.

E-filing, which was in use with Supreme Court cases before Fox was appointed to the court, was rolled out at the district court level during her tenure.

Fox said that though she often gets credited for ushering it in, e-filing was a long-term project that just happened to take place on her watch. She's looking forward to the upcoming roll-out of e-filing in the state's circuit courts, beginning with the pilot in Goshen County.

Technology has had a much bigger impact in trial courts than in the Supreme Court, Fox added.

"In circuit court, with all the traffic cases, those hearings and...