Amy Fellows Cline, a Kansas Court of Appeals judge since 2021, faces a retention vote on Nov. 3, 2026. Johnson County voters will see the nonpartisan race on their ballots, deciding whether to keep Cline in Position 3 on the appellate bench.
There is no opposing candidate.
Cline said she is running because she enjoys helping people resolve legal disputes. "I enjoy helping people and, since our court handles about 1,500 cases a year, we get to help a lot of people resolve legal disputes," Cline wrote in a candidate questionnaire. She added that she tries to write opinions in a plainspoken way so parties can understand the analysis and outcome.
Candidate information
- Office sought: Kansas Court of Appeals Judge, Position 3 (retention)
- Party: Nonpartisan (appellate judicial elections in Kansas are nonpartisan, Cline said)
- Hometown: Wichita, Kansas (grew up in Valley Center)
- Education: University of Kansas School of Law, J.D., 2000; Wichita State University, B.A. magna cum laude in political science, 1997; Valley Center High School, 1992
- Current term: January 2023 through January 2027
- 2022 retention result: Retained with 68.8% of the vote (580,472 yes, 262,901 no)
Experience and public service
Governor Laura Kelly appointed Cline to the court on July 15, 2020, to fill a vacancy left by Judge G. Joseph Pierron Jr.'s retirement. The Kansas Senate confirmed her on Jan. 21, 2021, and she was sworn in on Feb. 26, 2021. Cline said this is her first and only elected or appointed office.
Before joining the bench, Cline practiced law for more than 20 years. She worked as an attorney at Triplett Woolf Garretson, LLC in Wichita from 2004 to 2021 and at Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, LLC in Wichita from 2000 to 2004. She represented clients in state and federal courts and before agencies including the Kansas Corporation Commission, the Kansas Human Rights Commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to Kansas Courts.
Cline served as president of Kansas Legal Services in 2014–2015 and president of the Kansas Bar Foundation in 2018. She also served on the University of Kansas School of Law Board of Governors from 2018 to 2021. Her awards include the Kansas Bar Foundation Robert K. Weary Award in 2020, the Kansas Women Attorneys Association's Carol Foreman Medal of Civility in 2026 and the Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Service Award in 2026.
On the issues
Handling cases where the law seems unfair: Cline said cases where citizens do not understand or know the law can be difficult, and the outcome can seem unfair. She said judges sometimes must apply the law regardless of whether the people involved knew they were violating it. Cline said she spends much of her time speaking to schools and community groups to increase civics education.
Judicial accountability: Cline pointed voters to the Kansas Courts website, kscourts.gov, where appellate opinions are posted every Friday and most oral arguments are livestreamed and archived. She encouraged voters to read opinions and watch oral arguments to judge whether judges follow the law, issue opinions expediently and treat attorneys and parties respectfully.
Making the court faster and clearer: Cline said she works to issue opinions expediently and writes them in a straightforward way so parties without legal training can understand the analysis and outcome.
Qualifications: Cline cited her experience representing clients across the state in several areas of law, which she said is similar to the work of the Court of Appeals. She said she issues opinions expediently and carries out her duties faithfully and impartially.
Voters can read Cline's opinions and watch archived oral arguments at kscourts.gov. The retention question appears on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot.
