Kay McFarland
{{Short description|American judge (1935–2015)}}
{{for|the football player|Kay McFarland (American football)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Kay McFarland
|image =
|imagesize =120pxs
|caption =
|office = Kansas Supreme Court Justice
|term_start = September 19, 1977
|term_end = January 12, 2009
|nominator =
|appointer = Robert F. Bennett
|predecessor = Harold R. Fatzer
|successor = Dan Biles
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|07|20}}
|birth_place = Coffeyville, Kansas
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|08|18|1935|07|20}}
|death_place = Topeka, Kansas
|spouse =
|children =
|residence =
|alma_mater = Washburn University
|profession =
|religion =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
Kay Eleanor McFarland{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinamerica0000unse_p8u8/page/606/mode/2up|title=Who's Who in American Law 1992-1993|year=1991|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|page=607|isbn=978-0-8379-3507-2 }} (July 20, 1935 – August 18, 2015) was a chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. She was the first female elected to a judgeship in Shawnee County, Kansas, first appointed to the state supreme court, and first to hold the title of chief justice.
Personal life
Kay McFarland was born on July 20, 1935, in Coffeyville, Kansas to Dr. Kenneth and Margaret McFarland.{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kay-mcfarland/17644 |title=Kay McFarland - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society |publisher=Kshs.org |date= |accessdate=2015-08-18}} In 1957, she graduated magna cum laude from Washburn University in Topeka with dual majors in English and history-political science. She graduated from Washburn University School of Law in 1964.{{cite web |title=Supreme Court Justices at a Glance |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2004/aug/29/supreme_court_justices/?kansas_legislature |format=English |accessdate=2007-03-06}} McFarland died on August 18, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://cjonline.com/news/2015-08-18/kay-mcfarland-former-kansas-supreme-court-chief-justice-dies-80|title=Kay McFarland, former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice, dies at 80|work=CJOnline.com}}
Professional life
McFarland was admitted to the Kansas Bar and entered into private practice in 1964 in Topeka. In 1971, she was elected judge of the probate and juvenile courts of Shawnee County, becoming the first woman elected to a judgeship in that county.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}
In January 1973, she won election as judge of the newly created Fifth Division of the District Court in Topeka. On September 19, 1977, she was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court by Governor Robert F. Bennett becoming the state's first female Supreme Court justice.{{cite web |title=FindLaw Biography |url=http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1194546_1?noconfirm=0 |format=English |accessdate=2007-03-06}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
On September 1, 1995 she became Kansas's first female chief justice, replacing the retiring Hon. Richard Holmes.{{cite web |title=Kansas Supreme Court Biography |url=http://www.kscourts.org/supct/km_scj.htm |format=English |accessdate=2007-03-06 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061101205723/http://www.kscourts.org/supct/km_scj.htm |archivedate = 2006-11-01}} She resigned on January 12, 2009 due to state laws mandating retirement after the age of 70.{{cite web |title= Sebelius again passes on Fairchild for next Supreme Court justice |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jan/07/sebelius-again-passes-fairchild-next-supreme-court/ |format=English |accessdate=2009-03-11}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216080641/http://washburnlaw.edu/news/2006/2006-06wlsaawards.php Chief Justice Kay McFarland Named Distinguished Alumni]
- [http://www.kscourts.org/kansas-courts/supreme-court/justice-bios/mcfarland.asp Official Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905105222/http://www.kscourts.org/kansas-courts/Supreme-Court/Justice-Bios/mcfarland.asp |date=2015-09-05 }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Richard Winn Holmes}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court|years=1995–2009}}
{{s-aft|after=Robert E. Davis}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Harold R. Fatzer}}
{{s-ttl|title=Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court|years=1997–1995}}
{{s-aft|after=Dan Biles}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Kay}}
Category:Politicians from Topeka, Kansas
Category:Kansas state court judges
Category:Chief justices of the Kansas Supreme Court
Category:Washburn University alumni
Category:Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States
Category:Washburn University School of Law alumni
Category:20th-century American judges
Category:20th-century American women judges