Kansas judge honored as advocate for fair courts

Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Karen Arnold-Burger is being honored by the American Bar Association for her work in advocating for fairness in the legal system.

Arnold-Burger will receive the Burnham “Hod” Greeley Award on Feb. 6 at the American Bar Association’s midyear meeting in Houston, the state office of Judicial Administration announced Thursday.

The award honors individuals and organizations that contribute to public understanding of the role of the judiciary in society.

Arnold-Burger said in a statement that she is “thrilled and honored” to be selected for the award “for doing what I can to help people understand why it’s so important that we have fair and impartial courts.”

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss nominated Arnold-Burger for her work with the National Association of Women Judges’ Informed Voter Project and as chairwoman of the Kansas Supreme Court’s Budget Advisory Council.

In a letter supporting Arnold-Burger’s nomination, Court of Appeals Judge Steve Leben wrote: “Still a junior member of our court, she does more public presentations (to lawyers, judges, and the public) than anyone else, and she also does the work of an appellate judge at 100 percent.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2015 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Kansas judge honored as advocate for fair courts."