When Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kite, a Teton County resident, becomes chief justice of the panel July 1, she will make history as the first woman to hold the highest judicial post in the state.

Sitting Chief Justice Barton Voigt announced Wednesday that justices had elected Kite to lead the body after Voigt’s term ends. A 10-year court veteran, Kite, 62, will become the 36th chief justice.

“I know it is significant,” Kite said of becoming the first woman to serve as chief justice. “There should be more women in the judiciary. When I went into law school, there weren’t that many women in my class.”

Kite recalled that when she entered the University of Wyoming law school there were seven women in her 125-person class. This year, however, marked the first time that women outnumbered men at the  school, she said.

She said her example should help women become judges.

“I hope that, more than anything, his would encourage more women to consider the judiciary as a career,” she said.

Kite serves on the Access to Justice Commission, which was established by the Supreme Court at the end of 2008. Its mission is to promote fair and equal access to civil justice in Wyoming.

She recently worked with legislators on House Bill 61, which addressed legal services funding.

She hopes to continue such work as chief justice.

“This access-to-justice agenda is what I do want to focus on,” Kite said.

In addition to duties as a justice, Kite will assume the administrative responsibilities of the Wyoming court system as well as oversee high court proceedings. During her four-year term, she will lead the Board of Judicial Policy of Administration and the Judicial Nominating Commission.

“My job is going to get a lot easier and Justice Kite’s job is going to get a lot harder,” said Voigt, the sitting chief justice. He added, “I think she’ll be great at it.”

Kite, a native of Laramie, was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Jim Geringer and was sworn into office June 2, 2000.  She received her B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Wyoming in 1970 with honors and her J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1974. 

Before her appointment to the high court, Kite served as senior assistant attorney general for the state of Wyoming from 1974 through 1978.

She entered private practice in 1979, joining the law firm of Holland & Hart. She was a partner in the Jackson office until her appointment to the high court.

Kite is married to Jackson-based lawyer Roy “Skip” Jacobson Jr., and they have one son, Gus. Kite said she plans to continue living in Jackson and will commute to Cheyenne and other state locations.

“I’ll be wherever I have to be,” Kite said. “My family remains in Jackson, and it will be my home.”