> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Wyoming Opens 28-Day Search for Cody District Judge
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-wyoming-2026-09-24-a/
- Published: 2026-09-25T03:24:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-25T03:24:47.000Z
- Description: Wyoming opened a 28-day application window for a Cody district-court vacancy created by Judge William L. Simpson’s mandatory retirement. A seven-member commission will send three finalists to the governor.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Policy, Wyoming

Wyoming’s Judicial Nominating Commission opened a statewide search Thursday for the next district judge based in Cody, starting a 28-day application window before the commission narrows the field to three names for the governor. The [vacancy notice](https://www.wyocourts.gov/news/judicial-nominating-commission-announces-vacancy-in-district-court-fifth-judicial-district-park-county/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) says applications are due by 5 p.m. Mountain time on Oct. 22.

The opening will be created by Judge William L. Simpson’s mandatory retirement when he turns 70 on Feb. 24, 2027\. The selected successor is scheduled to take office the next day, according to the court’s announcement. The seat serves the Fifth Judicial District in Park County, placing the recruitment on a fixed timetable even though the vacancy itself is five months away.

Applicants must be at least 28 years old, citizens of the United States and Wyoming residents for at least two years. They also must be learned in the law, not yet 70 and have practiced law for at least one year. The commission, chaired by Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden, will review the applications and interview candidates before forwarding three qualified nominees to the governor.

That three-name structure is not discretionary. Article 5, Section 4 of the [state constitution](https://codes.findlaw.com/wy/wyoming-constitution/wy-const-art-5-sect-4/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) requires the governor to appoint a district judge from a list submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission. It gives the commission up to 60 days after a retirement to send its list and the governor 30 days to choose; if the governor does not act, the chief justice must appoint from the same list within 15 days.

The constitution also divides the seven-member commission between the judiciary, lawyers and nonlawyers. The chief justice chairs it, three practicing attorneys are elected by the Wyoming State Bar, and the governor appoints three state electors who are not lawyers. The Judicial Branch maintains the commission’s rules, membership and application materials on its [commission page](https://www.wyocourts.gov/committees-and-boards/judicial-nominating-commission/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), giving prospective applicants a single official source for the process.

The Cody appointment carries broad authority. Wyoming’s [court overview](https://www.wyocourts.gov/district-courts/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) describes district courts as the state’s trial courts of general jurisdiction. Their judges hear felony cases, major civil disputes, family-law matters, juvenile and probate cases, and appeals from lower courts. The state has 27 district judges spread across nine judicial districts, with a district court in each of Wyoming’s 23 counties.

The appointment does not end public accountability. District judges serve six-year terms, and a new appointee must later stand in a nonpartisan retention election under the constitutional system. Voters do not choose among competing judicial candidates; they decide whether the appointed judge should remain in office.

For Park County, the immediate practical deadline is Oct. 22\. After that, the commission’s interviews and three-person shortlist will define the governor’s choices. The advance notice is intended to prevent a break in service between Simpson’s retirement and the successor’s swearing-in, while preserving the state’s merit-screening and retention framework.