Press Release
For Immediate Release
Judge Teresa J. James, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas, Announces Retirement
(Kansas City, Kansas) The court announces the retirement of Magistrate Judge Teresa J. James, effective January 30, 2026, after 12 years of service to the federal bench. Judge James was appointed to an initial eight-year term of service on January 16, 2014; she was reappointed to a second term in 2022.
Judge James received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in 1981 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas in 1984. Following graduation, Judge James was in private practice in Wichita until she joined the Overland Park office of Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, LLP in 2003. At Martin Pringle, Judge James was a partner, served a term as managing partner of the Kansas City Office, and specialized in energy, oil and gas, condemnation and complex litigation.
Prior to joining the bench, Judge James served on the board of the Kansas Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, the Bench-Bar Committee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, the Rule 1 Task Force, the Johnson County Bar Association’s Ethics Committee, the New Rules Task Force, and on the Kansas Appleseed Foundation Board. She is a Fellow of the Kansas Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation. Judge James is a Past President of the Earl E. O’Connor Inn of Court and a Past President of the Kansas and Western District of Missouri Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Judge James’ tenure on the bench has been marked by her dedication to professionalism in the legal profession and building bridges between the judiciary and the public through outreach and education efforts. Judge James is passionate about civics education for students and is actively engaged in the Federal Bar Association’s Constitution Day project that organizes public readings of the U.S. Constitution at the three District of Kansas federal courthouses on Constitution Day, as well as efforts to connect lawyers and judges with schools to present civics education programs.
Chief Judge Melgren reflects that, “Judge James had a distinguished practice in Wichita and the Kansas City area before taking the bench, and she brought that expertise and experience to her job as a judge. In addition to the warmth and professionalism she brought to her duties, Judge James will also be remembered for her passion for community outreach – to students and to the practicing bar. Her collegiality and skillful diligence will certainly be missed, by her colleagues and by those who appeared before her.”
U.S. District Court, District of Kansas
Contact:
Skyler B. O’Hara, Clerk of Court
skyler_ohara@ksd.uscourts.gov
(913) 735-2200
