After two stints as an assistant Lyon County prosecutor and time as Emporia’s city attorney, Laura Miser has a new job: judge.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly appointed Miser to the bench Monday following the retirement of longtime chief judge Merlin Wheeler. Miser becomes the first woman to serve as a Lyon County judge. It’s a role she doesn’t take lightly.
Miser tells KVOE News she has been happy with her role as an assistant prosecutor in the Lyon County Attorney’s Office. Once longtime chief judge Merlin Wheeler began mentioning plans to retire, as he did last month, Miser’s dream reawakened.
Miser tells KVOE News her judicial philosophy will mirror her thought process as an attorney. She plans to look at the facts of each individual case, being preparedfor the situations presented to her and to do her best to apply the law fairly.
History on the bench: Laura Miser becomes Lyon County District Court’s first woman judge
Lyon County District Court has its first woman on the bench.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has appointed Assistant Lyon County Attorney Laura Miser to the bench Monday. Miser has served in her current role the past eight years and also served as a city prosecutor in Emporia. She earned her juris doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and is also a member of the Kansas county and District Attorneys Association, National District Attorneys Association and the Lyon/Chase County Bar Association.
Miser becomes a judge after longtime chief judge Merlin Wheeler retired last month. Two other finalists, Lyon County Magistrate Judge Doug Jones and Emporia attorney Jeremy Dorsey, were also considered for the spot.
