Amanda Kricken zips up her mother District Judge Tori Kricken’s robe during Thursday’s robing ceremony at the Albany County Courthouse as her brother, Cole, looks on. Tori Kricken succeeded District Court Judge Jeffrey Donnell in Wyoming’s Second Judicial District.
Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Kate Fox, left, and District Judge Tori Kricken, right, exchange a glance during Thursday's robing ceremony in the Albany County Courthouse.
Gov. Matt Mead, left, speaks with former District Judge Jeffrey Donnell prior to the start of Thursday's robing ceremony in the Albany County Courthouse.
Amanda Kricken zips up her mother District Judge Tori Kricken’s robe during Thursday’s robing ceremony at the Albany County Courthouse as her brother, Cole, looks on. Tori Kricken succeeded District Court Judge Jeffrey Donnell in Wyoming’s Second Judicial District.
SHANNON BRODERICK/Boomerang photographer
District Judge Tori Kricken hugs her son, Cole, during Thursday's robing ceremony at the Albany County Courthouse.
SHANNON BRODERICK/Boomerang photographer
District Judge Tori Kricken speaks during Thursday's robing ceremony in the Albany County Courthouse.
SHANNON BRODERICK/Boomerang photographer
Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Kate Fox, left, and District Judge Tori Kricken, right, exchange a glance during Thursday's robing ceremony in the Albany County Courthouse.
SHANNON BRODERICK/Boomerang photographer
District Judge Tori Kricken listens to a speaker during her robing ceremony Thursday in the Albany County Courthouse.
SHANNON BRODERICK/Boomerang photographer
Gov. Matt Mead, left, speaks with former District Judge Jeffrey Donnell prior to the start of Thursday's robing ceremony in the Albany County Courthouse.
Newly appointed District Court Judge Tori Kricken was sworn in Thursday afternoon in a robing ceremony at the Albany County Courthouse.
More than 100 people attended the event in the courthouse’s third-floor district courtroom — among them, attorneys with the Wyoming Bar Association, local law enforcement officers and elected Albany County and state officials.
Kricken took the oath of office before four members of the Wyoming Supreme Court — Chief Justice E. James Burke and Justices William Hill, Kate Fox and Keith Kautz — and was subsequently helped into her black judge’s robe by her two young children, Cole and Amanda.
“They say that it takes a village to raise a child,” Kricken said. “Well, I can attest that it takes an entire community, if not a state, to sculpt a judge. I have not done this alone — I could not possibly, in the few minutes that I have today, mention the names of the many friends and family who have guided me and supported me throughout the life, and who have been instrumental in helping me realize this dream.”
Kricken began serving on the bench this month following the retirement of former District Court Judge Jeffrey Donnell. In early October, the state Judicial Nominating Commission selected Kricken as one of three finalists for the Second Judicial District vacancy, along with Wyoming State Board of Equalization member Robin Sessions Cooley and Peter H. Froelicher, a hearing examiner for the Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings; Gov. Matt Mead appointed Kricken to the bench later that month.
Prior to becoming a judge, Kricken served as a staff attorney for the Second Judicial District and was also a District Court commissioner, DUI/Drug Court judge and Circuit Court magistrate in the Second Judicial District.
In a speech during the ceremony, Mead said he looked for “well-rounded” individuals when selecting new judges and chose Kricken in part because of the positive responses from those who had worked with her.
“As I think about my job in the selection process, I know how important it is,” he said. “I know how important it is, because in this hyper-political world that we live in right now, we need a judiciary. We need that apolitical body that can make these very important decisions about life, liberty and property.”
Donnell spoke about the challenges that judges face, such as making difficult decisions in court cases and always being in the public eye.
“You’ll decide who children grow up with, who goes to prison and who doesn’t, and what to do about parents who abandon and abuse their children,” he said. “You’ll do it on your own, in most cases — no input or advice from anybody, and you will do it under the watchful eye of everyone.”
He told Kricken some people are born to do their jobs — and she might be that type of person.
“I don’t think I have ever found anyone with a keener intellect or a better legal mind who at the same time had the ability to empathize and interact with people the way you do,” he said. “And I know you will undertake this work with all of the integrity and intellect and courage and leadership that it requires.”
Let the news come to you
Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.