TORRINGTON – Former Wyoming Secretary of State Edward Buchanan was sworn in as the newest judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court of Wyoming on Friday, Dec. 9. Buchanan, along with his family, were present for the ceremony where several members of the Wyoming judiciary and state government spoke on behalf of Buchanan’s suitability for the position.
The Wyoming Supreme Court presided over the ceremony. Chief Justice Kate Fox was absent, so Justice Keith Kautz presided over the ceremony with Justices Lynne Boomgaarden, Kari Gray, John Fenn and Judge F. Scott Peasley sitting in for Justice Fox. Peasley is the Eighth Circuit Court Judge for Converse County. Shawna Goetz, clerk of court for the Wyoming Supreme Court, opened the ceremonious hearing.
“We have some special guests here, today,” Kautz began. “So, folks, thank you for honoring us with your presence. We have a number of judges; we have elected officials and court staff from all over this district; we have legislators and legislators-elect and it’s our special honor to have Sen. Barrasso here with us today; and as always, it’s our special honor to have Governor Gordon with us, today.”
Prior to being sworn in, several speakers presented on Buchanan’s appointment to the judgeship. The first speaker was Dana Lent, speaking on behalf of the Wyoming State Bar Association.
“We are all here to congratulate Judge Buchanan on his appointment as district court judge in the Eighth Judicial District; serving Goshen, Platte, Niobrara and Converse Counties,” Lent said. “In particular, I want to congratulate you on behalf of the Wyoming State Bar, President Christopher Hawks, the commissioners, Executive Director Sharon Wilkinson, our Bar Association directors, leadership and staff.”
Lent recounted memories of working with Buchanan while he was serving as an attorney and as an elected official working in the Wyoming state government.
“Ed was our secretary of state from 2018-2022,” Lent said. “He dedicated 10 years to the legislature on behalf of his community, from 2003-2013. During his time in the legislature, Ed maintained his law practice in Torrington, where he continued to develop his reputation as a trusted attorney, helping people with their estate planning, family law matters, criminal matters, issues with real property and accepting appointments for juvenile cases, just to name a few. Ed’s background will serve him well as a judge. He has practiced in many areas of the law and understands the complexity and nuisances associated with representing clients. As an attorney, Ed was good-natured, his clients trusted him, and he did a good job for them. He was also superb to work with from the opposite side of the courtroom. Ed has a sense of humor and I remember his ability to diffuse situations that had a potential to become too adversarial. He maintained a reasonable and balanced approach toward cases, and I remember, more often than not, being able to resolve issues that could be resolved, so we could each limit our issues for trial and present a more cogent case to the court.”
Lent said she believes Buchanan will carry out the roles and responsibilities the judgeship carries with it in a satisfactory manner. She attributed much of her past work with Buchanan and his moral values and character as her reasons to support his appointment.
After Lent’s presentation to the court, Dan Kirkbride of the Wyoming Judicial Nominating Commission presented on Buchanan’s appointment.
Lent noted the importance of the peaceful handoff of the judgeship. Additionally, Lent spoke on the establishment of the Judicial Nominating Commission, and its importance in the Wyoming judiciary. In Wyoming, the commission appoints judges based on their merits, as opposed to a popular election by the people.
The commission is comprised of the chief justice, Kate Fox, three lawyers, Anna Olson, Katherine Strike and Devon O’Connell, and three non-lawyers, Gudrid Espenscheid, Paul Scherbel and Kirkbride.
“Only one Wyomingite in about 22,000 receives an appointment as a district court judge,” Kirkbride said. “Such a person stands to perform all manner of good to a varied cast of people: attorney, victims, the guilty facing justice, the immediate staff, court clerk folks, families gone awry and the children floundering in their wake, law enforcement, other judges around the state and most importantly, to serve as a foundation of trust in the community as a whole. Judge Buchanan, I would surmise that in this room full of your family and friends, coworkers and colleagues, everyone has confidence you will provide that shelter and that civic good in a timely fashion.”
Judge Catherine Rogers spoke next. Rogers is a district court judge in the First Judicial District Court.
“Judge Buchanan, what a nice ring that has. It’s about time.” Rogers said. “Ed and I got to know each other when he came to Cheyenne from Torrington to serve as deputy district attorney in the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office after Jeremiah Sandberg was elected…Ed really took our world by storm, in all the best ways. We very quickly knew him and appreciated him to be a remarkably talented litigator, a gentleman, a mentor, certainly, a friend to those in his office who worked with and for him, also really a friend to the whole community of prosecutors and defense attorneys who regularly practiced in Laramie County.”
Following Rogers’ testimony, Sen. Barrasso spoke on Buchanan’s appointment.
“I didn’t come because I had anything significant to say, I came because I had something significant to witness,” Barrasso said. “That was to witness a remarkable man being sworn into this great job. A guy from this community coming home to do what he loves. You grew up here, (went to) the University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming Law School, service in the military, the Air Force…I think of three branches of government with a civic lesion, the legislative, the judiciary, as well as the executive, you excelled in all, and I think you are going to excel in this one…we are all here for one reason, we are here to celebrate with a man devoted to the community, devoted to the law, devoted to your family; this is where your heart is; and we are all here with a great deal of appreciation and admiration and respect for you; you the man, you the individual.”
Following Sen. Barrasso’s testimony, Gov. Gordon spoke on Buchanan’s appointment.
“It is truly an honor to be here, today,” Gordon said. “I remember something like six months ago, having a conversation, and I just wanted to relate a little bit about this before I get into comments about Ed and how wonderful he is for this position. We had just had a State Loans and Investment Board meeting…we were walking back, and I just learned that Judge Korell had offered his resignation. I asked Ed what his interests were, and I think this tells you of his dedication to service to the state. He (Ed) said, ‘I love the Secretary of State’s Office. It is so important. I love the staff that are there…I just know there is so much we can do, and it has been such an honor; we have gone through so much…’
Gordon reflected on working with Buchanan through the COVID pandemic. Gordon recalled one particular occurrence where he and other state officials were conversing during some of the decision-making process during the COVID era.
“Then, something happened. He (Ed) said, ‘and then there is the law,’ And he smiled, and there was a radiance that came to him, and it was true, he loves the law,” Gordon said. “Winston Churchill said, ‘Sometimes men stumble on the truth. Most of them get up immediately, dust themselves off and hurry along. But a few of them stay and examine it.’ That is what Ed does, he looks for the truth, he often finds it, sometimes he stumbles on it, but he is always consistent and wants to make sure he has the truth.”
Following Gordon’s presentation, Justice Kautz administered the oath of office to Buchanan. After being sworn, Buchanan’s family robed him in his judicial robe. Buchanan then took a seat at the temporary bench with the Wyoming Supreme Court justices and Judge Peasley.
“At this point, ladies and gentlemen, one of us from the Supreme Court offers remarks to the new judge and then we give the new judge an opportunity to respond,” Kautz explained. “It’s my special honor to be able to do that today. For those of you who know us, my experience with Judge Buchanan goes way back. I’ve been able to give you many oaths over your career and am very honored to offer you these remarks today.”
Kautz formally welcomed Buchanan to the judiciary and provided him with some information on the judiciary.
“This week, with my colleagues, I was fortunate to observe some top-tier Wyoming high school students in the ‘We the People’ competition. I was really encouraged by the insight, intellect and enthusiasm of the upcoming generation, but I was a little discouraged to hear a common theme; that many believe the judicial system in America is politicized and unreliable. I don’t think that’s true in the United States, and I absolutely know it is not true in Wyoming. Today, you put on a black robe like all of ours. Every judge and magistrate in Wyoming wears a simple, similar black robe. The robe is like a team uniform that we all wear at every level of the judiciary to show that we do not follow partisan or political colors. Black shows that we are colorblind, unbiased and independent. It shows that all of us are engaged in upholding the Constitution, the rule of law and equal justice for every person under the law. It shows that we can show serious deliberation to matters, rather than rushing to judgment or being influenced by media or public opinion. You joined that team, and we welcome you to it.”
Following Kautz’ presentation, Buchanan spoke before the court.
A teary-eyed Buchanan thanked everyone for showing up to support him, especially staff of the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office.
“When I came onboard, there is quite a transition that you have to undertake,” Buchanan said. “There are cases that need immediate attention. I was in court, I started on a Monday, I did have that day just in chambers, but the day after that I went to Wheatland, jumped right into cases, but I owe a special thanks to my district court judges around the state.”
Buchanan shared some stories about his time working as a prosecutor and a trial attorney and thanked the court personnel he had worked with previously and who he would now be working with, who were present for the ceremony.
“A lot of these speakers today have mentioned my time in the legislative branch and the executive branch, and I can tell you every one of them has been a special experience,” Buchanan said. “I used to tell people all the time, ‘serving in the legislature next to family is one of the greatest experiences of my life.’ Where else can you as a citizen, elected by the people, write a bill and change the law? Here is where that passion for the law comes in. We have got these green statute books in Wyoming, and that is what we live by. As a legislator, you can go down, and if you have a good idea, and you can convince your colleagues your idea has merit, you can change the law. How powerful is that?”
Buchanan spoke of how Fred Huckfeldt, an elderly Goshen County resident at the time, had taken a license plate with a military medal taped to it and gave it to Buchanan. He told Buchanan he thought it would be great for Wyoming to have a veteran’s license plate. Buchanan took that bill to Cheyenne and the bill was later passed.
“So, why the law? The governor mentioned it, others have mentioned it. I have always had a passion for basically three things: aviation, the law and politics or government,” Buchanan said. “I have been privileged to be able to participate in every one of those endeavors. So, when I interviewed with the Judicial Nomination Commission that was one of the questions, ‘why do you want to be a judge?’ Of course, there are a lot of reasons…first of all…being an attorney, that’s a lot of fun, actually. There are a lot of stressful situations, but it’s a lot of fun. Each one of us in the room (who are attorneys) …you could write two books: you could write a book of comedy and you could write a book of trials and tribulations and things you have learned over the years.”
Buchanan then shared a few stories from his time as an attorney and why he wanted to become a judge.
“For me, the attractiveness of the law is its largeness,” Buchanan explained. “You can never even hope to know it all. If you think about it, the world civilization has become civilized because of the law, and the law is what governs us and keeps us as a civil society. Whether it’s a small issue…I learned something knew, and I know I will continue to learn something new every single day, it might be something small, very small and fairly insignificant, it might be what type of willful wanton conduct will allow the Supreme Court to uphold a verdict of punitive damage. You might learn that at some time, or what you do with a default judgment or something larger, like transmutation, or how to value bank shares. I didn’t know about that before, but you’re going to learn those things, so it’s that quest for knowledge, that thirst for knowledge that brought me here before you today. I am so honored and humbled to serve the citizens of the Eighth Judicial District. I appreciate the trust that has been placed in me…finally, I would like to say thanks to my family…you are the reason I do what I do.”
Following Buchanan’s speech, the court was adjourned and those present gathered in the lobby of the courthouse for a reception.
