Outstanding Women Have Served In U.S. Attorney’s Office

WICHITA, KAN. – Outstanding women have served with distinction at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said today in observance of Women’s History Month.

“In Kansas, we have been honored to serve with a long line of talented and dedicated women,” McAllister said. “They have excelled in their field and paved the way to success for other women.”

Mary Beck Briscoe served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1974 to 1984 in the District of Kansas, and then joined the Kansas Court of Appeals, eventually serving as that court’s Chief Judge. She has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit since 1995.

Karen Humphreys served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1978 to 1983. She was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge in 1993, serving until she retired in 2015.

Janice Miller Karlin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1980 to 2002. She went on to become a U.S. Bankruptcy judge, serving until she retired in 2018.

Julie Robinson served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1983 to 1993. From 1992 to 1994 she served as Senior Litigation Counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 1994, she was appointed as a bankruptcy judge. In 2001, she became the first African American woman appointed to the U.S. District Court in Kansas, and she currently serves as Chief Judge of that court.

Karen Arnold-Burger served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1989 to 1991, when she was appointed to the Kansas Court of Appeals. She is now Chief Judge of that court.

Nancy Moritz served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1995 to 2004, and then served on the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. In 2014, she took a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Today, women make about half the employees of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas, including 13 attorneys and 37 members of the support team.