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Judge Nancy Guthrie
Ninth District Judge Nancy Guthrie graduated from the University of Wyoming School of Law in 1968. As a child, she listened to her father, Rodney M. Guthrie, a former 6th Judicial District judge and Wyoming Supreme Court chief justice, talk about cases over dinner. Nancy grew up in Newcastle, and earned her bachelor’s degree in English and sociology at UW. She became the state’s first female prosecuting attorney in 1978 in Big Horn County. She was appointed to the bench fifteen years ago in Fremont County, part of the 9th Judicial District, and began working in Teton County about eight years ago. State law requires that she retire at age seventy; she is stepping down on May 31.
Q: Have you enjoyed being a judge?
A: I love it. My father was a judge. In fact, I wear his robe. Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted to be a judge. When you figure out when you’re six or seven years old that you want to be something and then finally, at fifty, you are, it’s pretty fun.
Q: Would your father talk about cases?
A: Yes. He came home one day and started talking about Brown v. Board of Education, [and] this young, black attorney by the name of Marshall, who argued it for Brown. And of course it was Thurgood Marshall, who ended up on the United States Supreme Court. I think I was in the third or fourth grade.
Q: I’ve noticed, being in your courtroom, that you have a knack for making everyone feel comfortable. Do you do it on purpose?
A: I don’t do it intentionally; it’s just sort of the way I am. I take what I do very, very seriously, but I’ve never taken myself seriously—if that makes sense, which I think it does.
Q: You’re making major decisions that affect peoples’ lives for years to come. How does that weigh on you?
A: The time leading up to the decision can weigh on you, but the minute I make a decision—you have to forget it; not second-guess yourself. And yet, if you make a mistake and it’s pointed out to you by one of the attorneys, you certainly should say, “Wait a minute, that was wrong.” When you’re here, think about it, worry about it, and come up with what you believe the right decision to be—but exercise, read good books, have good friends, travel. You just have to leave everything in this room right here, or else you really would go crazy.
Interview by Sarah lison
Photography by BRADLY J. BONER
