In this election, Park County voters will help decide whether four judges — one local and three at the state level — should stay on the bench or be replaced. Attorneys who’ve practiced before the jurists overwhelmingly say they all should be retained.

Within a recent judicial survey commissioned by the Wyoming State Bar, lawyers expressed strong support for Wyoming Supreme Court Justices Robert Jarosh and Bridget Hill, Wyoming Chancery Court Judge Ben Burningham and Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield of Thermopolis.

Between the circuit and district courts, four judges regularly hear cases in the Fifth Judicial District, which is made up of the Big Horn Basin. However, Overfield is the only one up for retention this year.

Appointed to the bench in October 2018, she regularly hears Park County cases when fellow District Judge Bill Simpson has a conflict.

Overfield last went before voters in 2020. At that time, 84.2% of residents across Park, Big Horn, Hot Spring and Washakie counties voted to retain her. Lawyers familiar with the judge are encouraging voters to do so again.

Of the 67 attorneys who weighed in on Overfield’s performance, 55 of them — or 82.1% — said they support keeping her on the bench for six more years. The other 12 lawyers, or 17.9%, indicated they want someone else.

Overfield’s highest marks came on her preparedness for court proceedings: 83.3% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat approve of her performance in that area.

Her lowest marks came for the reasoning and clarity of her decisions, where her approval slipped to 68.8% and disapproval rose to 23%.

Overall, Overfield ranked below the average district court judge in nine of the 11 categories surveyed. However, directly comparing judges is difficult, because different groups of attorneys weigh in on different judges.

Other local judges

Judge Simpson — who is reaching mandatory retirement age in February — ranked below his peers’ average in 10 of the 11 categories.

Simpson excelled in courteousness and politeness: 87.7% of the 65 responding attorneys approved of the way he treats people in court.

The judge’s lowest marks came from the way he addresses and answers issues posed to the court; about 65.7% strongly or somewhat approved of his performance in that area, with about 22% disapproval.

As for Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah, he received ratings that met or beat his average circuit court peer in seven of the 11 categories.

Among the 27 attorneys who weighed in on Darrah’s performance, they again voiced the strongest approval — 88.9% — for his courteousness and politeness.

The most negative feedback came in relation to Darrah’s open-mindedness and impartiality. Five attorneys — or 18.5% — voiced some form of disapproval, but another 20 lawyers (74.1%) indicated they strongly or somewhat approved of his objectivity.

Big Horn Basin voters chose to retain Darrah in 2024, so he won’t return to the ballot until 2028.

Wyoming Supreme Court

Meanwhile, voters across the state will decide the face of two of the Wyoming Supreme Court’s five justices: Robert Jarosh and Justice Bridget Hill.

A total of 276 attorneys weighed in on Jarosh’s performance, and 247 of them (89.5%) said he should be retained. The other 29 attorneys (10.5%) said no.

It was a similar result for Hill. Of the 309 attorneys who opined on her performance, a total of 270, or 87.4%, said she should stay on the high court. The remaining 39 attorneys, or 12.6%, expressed opposition.

If retained by Wyoming voters, Hill and Jarosh would earn another eight years on the bench.

Most of the lawyers who shared their views indicated that they hadn’t appeared before the Supreme Court, but based their views on their readings of the court’s written opinions.

Perhaps no decision drew more attention than the one the court issued in January. In a 4-1 ruling, the justices held that the state Legislature’s attempts to prohibit abortions violated women’s constitutional right to make their own health care decisions. However, that didn’t end the discussion: Lawmakers passed another abortion ban during their winter session and that law is also going to be considered by the high court.

Jarosh’s scores generally ranked second among the five justices, while Hill came in fourth.

Justice John Fenn, who joined the high court in 2022, scored the highest marks while Justice Kari Gray — the lone dissenting vote on the abortion ruling — got the lowest scores.

Chief Justice Lynn Boomgaarden landed in the middle of the rankings.

Chancery court

This election also marks the first time that voters will directly offer input on Wyoming’s Chancery Court.

Launched in 2021 to speedily resolve business disputes, the court’s caseload has been relatively light; it didn’t get its first dedicated judge until January 2025, when Judge Ben Burningham was appointed to the role.

A total of 15 attorneys weighed in on Burningham’s performance so far, and all of them, 100%, recommended that he be retained.

He received strong marks in all 11 areas surveyed, with no attorneys voicing any disapproval; his preparedness nearly hit a perfect score.

If voters support him, Burningham’s position will be secure for the next six years.

For the full results of the Wyoming State Bar’s Judicial Performance Assessment, visit wyomingbar.org/for-the-public/judicial-branch-faqs.