The Honorable Elizabeth Kronk Warner and Honorable Theresa Barr concluded their terms of service in May 2019. A farewell reception was held for them at the PBPN Judicial Center on May 16, 2019, where they were presented with beaded medallions and flowers for their years of service.
5.23.19
By: MICHELLE SIMON
The Judicial Council of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is undergoing changes in staffing. Both, the Honorable Theresa Barr and the Honorable Elizabeth Kronk Warner have reached the end of their terms and are choosing to pursue other options while the Honorable Charles Tripp is joining the Judicial Council.
Judge Barr began her tenure for the Nation in October 2009, presiding over the Healing to Wellness Court. She later transitioned into the role of Administrative District Court Judge and has maintained this position until May 2019.
Barr is opening a private law firm, Barr Law, LLC, in Lawrence, Kan. where she will specialize in elder law and estate planning. Her new office is located at 543 Lawrence Avenue. Barr graduated from the University of Kansas Law School in 2001.
Judge Kronk Warner served the Nation as a Tribal District Court Judge and presided over the Healing to Wellness Court since November 2015.
“It has been a real privilege working for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, along with the phenomenal court staff,” declared Kronk Warner at a farewell reception held at the PBPN Judicial Center on May 16, shortly after attending her last Healing to Wellness Court session.
Kronk Warner, who was also the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Kansas School of Law, along with a Professor of Law and Director for the Tribal Law and Government Center, will be moving to Utah where she will be the Dean of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah effective July 1. Kronk Warner received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Law in 2003.
And joining the Judicial Council to serve as the Administrative District Court judge is the Honorable Charles Tripp. Tripp was nominated for the four-year term by PBPN Tribal Council Chairman Joseph Rupnick and approved by the remaining six council members pursuant to the PBPN Constitution. Judge Tripp was sworn into office on May 20, 2019, via phone conference.
Judge Tripp is a member of the Cherokee Nation. He also serves as the Chief District Judge for the Miami Tribe District Court, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Kaw Nation in Oklahoma, and as a District Judge for the Sac n Fox Tribe of Missouri and Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, along with acting as an attorney representing multiple tribal entities in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. Tripp received his Juris Doctorate in 1993 from the University of Tulsa.