All Rise

When Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss appointed Chief Judge Kim Cudney to the Kansas Judicial Council in January, 2019, he said: "The court is honored to have someone with Judge Cudney’s experience, qualifications, and outstanding reputation agree to serve on the council."
The judicial council reviews the administration of justice in Kansas. Among its duties, it can recommend to the Supreme Court or the Kansas Legislature changes regarding specific areas of the law or rules used by the courts.
The appointment was yet another plum in the impressive legal career of Cudney, a small town girl from rural Washington County who has risen to become one of the most important female jurists in the state of Kansas.
When I met with Cudney in her chambers at the Washington County Courthouse, I was immediately taken by her friendliness. Because she is a judge, Cudney is, of course, somewhat guarded with her responses. But as she warms to a conversation she reveals an adventurous personality and rollicking sense of humor that belies her legal stature. Conversations with her - with Kim Cudney, the woman who wears judicial robes - often became heartfelt discussions with a mother, a wife, and a passionate advocate for children.
Cudney was raised on a farm near the town of Barnes, a rural community about 10 miles southeast of Washington, current population 160.
"I was a farm girl," Cudney said. "I grew up with two sisters, but no brothers. Now my sisters and I have children of our own, and they're all boys. I don't know what the odds of that are."
By her second year in high school Cudney knew she wanted to be a lawyer. She was motivated by a belief that the legal system should run more smoothly and efficiently.
"I still put that belief into practice today as a judge," she said. "I push attorneys to work their cases, because we're impacting people's lives."
Cudney graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Political Science, and then earned her law degree at Washburn University. She spent two years working as a research attorney for the Kansas Supreme Court, and then one year as a law clerk for a federal judge before joining a Kansas City law firm that specialized in malpractice cases.
"That was when the Saving & Loan banking crisis was affecting the country. The firm did a lot of work with that, and also cases involving doctors and nurses. I traveled all over the United States taking depositions."
The work instilled in Cudney a love for travel and an eagerness to visit new places and experience different things. But after a year of seven-day work weeks and big city living, Cudney began to miss the small-town life. She had also met a young man from Marysville on a blind date, and he would become her husband.
Cudney moved to Marysville and joined a local law firm. The legal work she did there was vastly different from her previous experience.
"I had specialized in one aspect of law. Now it was like a doctor being a general practitioner; I did a little bit of everything: real estate, civil lawsuits, wills, custody disputes, DUI's. I learned a lot."
In September, 1996, Cudney ran for the position of Washington County Attorney. "I was eight months pregnant at the time," she recalls with a laugh. "I kind of waddled around campaigning."
Cudney won. A month later, in October, she gave birth to her first child. "Being a mother really changed a lot of things for me. It changed my perspective a little."
'Perspective' is the essence of Kim Cudney: a judge and a lawyer, yes, appointed as magistrate for the innocent and adjudicator of punishment to the guilty. But she is also a human being; a woman with compassion for those who have suffered and those who have fallen through the cracks of society. She must often bear witness to the horrific pain and misery that some people are willing to inflict on others.
"Some of the cases stay with you for awhile," Cudney admits. "Cases involving child abuse or child neglect are always difficult."
Cudney was re-elected as Washington County Attorney in 2000 and 2004. She has never lost an election. "For someone who is not political, I guess I did okay."
In 2006, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius handpicked Cudney to become district judge and the Chief Judge of the 12th Judicial District. Cudney was the first female judge in the history of that district.
"I was really honored to be chosen," Cudney said. "I thought it was impressive just to have the interview with Governor Sebelius! A lot of people applied for the position. I'm a small-town girl; I was kind of awestruck just to be sitting in her office in Topeka."
The day she was sworn in as Chief Judge is still a special moment for Cudney. "I was really proud," she said. "But then that first day you begin to do the job and realize just how hard it is."
Kansas has 31 judicial districts. A Chief Judge, in addition to his or her judicial responsibilities, has general control over case assignments within the district, as well as general supervisory authority over the administrative and clerical functions of the court. Cudney presides over cases in the counties of Cloud, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Republic, and Washington.
"You're always busy. There's just so much work to do, and on top of that - as a judge - you're always aware of the responsibility you have to people. You have to make so many decisions that will always impact people's lives."
Covering six different counties keeps Cudney on the road nonstop. She averages about 2000 miles a month presiding over her district. In between the travel time, Cudney must review each case that comes before her bench and consult with attorneys, often times juggling dozens of different cases at the same time.
Every year since 2006, when she was first appointed, Cudney has carried the highest caseload of any district judge in the state of Kansas. From July 1, 2017, until July 1, 2018, Cudney presided over 671 civil, felony, and domestic cases.
Civil cases require a great deal more research and review time for Cudney because civil statutes allow more leeway for rulings and judgments. Criminal cases are more fact-driven, and very specific rules and sentencing guidelines apply.
There is one category of crime that tops all others, not just in Cudney's district, but in courtrooms all across America: drug abuse. Criminal courts and law enforcement agencies are in a monumental battle against one specific drug that is tearing at the fabric of American society and destroying lives: meth.
Methamphetamine is a vicious narcotic that turns almost every user into an addict. Meth addiction has reached epidemic levels across the country, and rural populaces may be impacted the worst of all.
Meth is three times as powerful as cocaine, twice as potent as heroin, and is among the most difficult drugs to permanently quit because it triggers dependency faster than almost every other type of illicit substance. Methamphetamine forces the brain to release an unnatural amount of dopamine, as well as norepinephrine, also known as adrenaline. Any consistent use of the drug begins to rewire the decision-making centers of the brain; using meth becomes something that the brain believes it must do to stay alive. To a meth addict, getting high becomes more important than anything else, even their families and children.
"Drug addiction is now the driving force behind almost every crime we have," Cudney said. "But what is the root cause of this addiction? That's the question we need to answer, because drug abuse has a domino effect. It affects three generations of a family: the parents, the children, and then often the grandparents or relatives who take custody of a child."
In 14 years on the bench, Cudney has also seen a dramatic rise in cases involving mental illness, many of them triggered by drug addiction. Understanding mental illness and diagnosing it properly accounts for some of that increase. But there are deeper issues in play; societal issues. Statistical data proves that we live complicated and stressful lives often fraught with financial peril. Some people use prescription drugs and alcohol to help take the edge off. Now too many people are turning to illicit drugs in an attempt to cope.
"People are trying to self-medicate themselves with illicit drugs," Cudney said. "When they do that, they become addicted and their lives spiral out of control."
Therein lies the crux of a problem all of America is trying to deal with: rampant drug abuse and drug addiction, and getting help to those who need it.
"We will offer help: counseling, treatment centers, we'll even help them find a job. But if they don't also try to help themselves then we quickly run out of options. If they quit their job or walk away from a treatment facility, if they become repeat offenders, then prison becomes the only option left as mandated by law."
That belief is a core ruling principle for Kim Cudney the judge. She will try to help; she will offer solutions. But if you abuse the options offered; if you become a repeat offender in her court after abandoning the help offered, she will mete out appropriate punishment.
"I always have hope," Cudney said. "But I've heard about every excuse there is, especially with the repeat offenders. They always just need one more chance. But we have a limited number of slots open in treatment facilities; a limited number of available drug counselors and social workers. You can't keep wasting those on someone you've already given three chances to. Tolerance only goes so far."
For Cudney, the most difficult cases are those involving child abuse or neglect, and many times she has been forced to rule that parental rights be terminated. Cudney must, in effect, use the law to end a mother's or father's right to be a part of their child's life.
"Those are very emotional cases," she said. "Very traumatic for both the parent and the child." In one instance, a distraught parent had to be subdued in Cudney's courtroom with Tasers.
When emotions run high the trauma, grief, or outrage over a ruling or verdict peels away a dark layer of the legal system: the danger - or threat of danger - to a jurist. Throughout her tenure on the bench, Cudney has received death threats credible enough that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation became involved.
There are also times when judges don't always agree with sentencing guidelines mandated by law. But with every crime, on every level, offenders will reach the point in a court of law where the judge's hands are tied.
"Whether I agree or disagree with any particular law of the state of Kansas, they are the laws and I must enforce them. And at every step of the process there are sentencing guidelines that must be enforced."
One of the more unusual cases Cudney has presided over was a dispute between a mother and father as to whether or not their three boys should be circumcised. A lawsuit was filed.
On the flip side, there are sometimes humorous moments in Cudney's courtrooms.
"Honestly, every now and then something funny happens in court, and you just want to turn around in your chair and start laughing."
Cudney does have someone to lean on when the days become difficult or a case is particularly troubling: her assistant Gayle Monty. There is an ease and comfort between them that is readily apparent when they are together in the office.
"She (Cudney) is the kindest and most fair person I know," said Monty, who has worked with Cudney since she was appointed chief judge of the 12th District in 2006. "People ask me all the time when I'm going to retire, and I always say: why would I leave a job like this? I love it!"
When asked about her future plans, Cudney is a bit coy. She has run for office before. Does she have any further political ambitions? As a judge, will she seek a higher court?
"Right now I'm happy doing what I'm doing," she said with a smile that left no doubt she meant what she said.
Political, or not; ambitious, or not; Kim Cudney is an impressive jurist with a keen mind, and she could very well be leaving her mark on the legal landscape of Kansas for years to come.