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Wyoming State Bar board flags possible return of proposals to change judicial selection
Summary
Board members heard that efforts to replace the Missouri Plan with elected judges — and a separate push for Senate confirmation — were blocked this year but may return in the 2026 Legislature; the Legislative Developments Committee chair warned a budget-session filing would require a two-thirds vote to proceed.
Khale J. Lenhart, chair of the Wyoming State Bar Legislative Developments Committee, told the Board on Sept. 19 that a bill this year to replace the Missouri Plan with elections was defeated and that an effort to add Senate confirmation for judges was later voted down in committee. Lenhart said he would not be surprised to see confirmation proposals refiled in the 2026 Legislature and reminded the Board that, because 2026 is a budget session, a change to the judicial-selection process would require a two-thirds vote to be introduced.
Lenhart urged the Bar to consider how far the Legislative Developments Committee should go in monitoring or taking positions on legislation; he asked for guidance from the Board. Vice President Alison O. Gee said she was concerned the issue could be introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives, and President-Elect P. Craig Silva asked Board members to check with county clerks to identify which legislators will face re-election and encourage lawyers to engage in the process.
Executive Director Sharon Wilkinson said she staffs the Bar’s practice section councils and regularly asks them to flag bills the committee should monitor. Treasurer Kelly M. Neville and Bar Counsel Mark W. Gifford participated in the discussion about outreach and coordination with members. Commissioner Dona Playton described the advocacy as coming from a "fringe group" opposing the current judicial selection process, and Commissioner Clayton M. Melinkovich suggested contacting lawyer members of the Judicial Nominating Commission to gather constituent feedback.
No formal Board vote on a legislative position was recorded at the meeting; Lenhart left the Board with a request for direction on how aggressively the committee should monitor or act on forthcoming proposals.
The Board’s next steps were limited to requests for guidance and member outreach; there was no motion to endorse or oppose specific reforms during the Sept. 19 session.
