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Appointed judge Cranfill seeks full term on bench
By Carole Cloudwalker
This document was published online on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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| Judge Steven Cranfill of the Fifth Judicial District is pictured Friday. (Photo by Ken Blackbird) |
Wyoming native Steven Cranfill, 58, will appear on the November general election ballot in his first retention vote since taking office as a district court judge in September 2006.
If retained, Cranfill will serve another six years. He is one of 23 district court judges in Wyoming.
Cranfill was born in Greybull and his family moved to Casper shortly after his birth.
“I only lived in Greybull two days,” he says. “My dad worked for Halliburton, and was transferred to Casper.”
His family also lived in Vernal, Utah, before moving to Worland in 1958. He's a 1968 graduate of Worland High School.
Married for 31 years to wife Dana, he has two grown daughters and two granddaughters, ages 3 and four months.
The Cranfills moved to Cody in 1985 and he formed a law practice with Michael McCarty.
Cranfill later served as Cody city attorney for six years, working with mayors Ken Stockwell and Roger Sedam.
Before studying law in a four-year night school program at the University of the Pacific in Sacramento, Calif,. Cranfill earned a BA in psychology in 1972 from Weber State College at Ogden, Utah.
“Psychology helps you with everything,” including serving as an attorney and a district court judge, Cranfill says.
After graduating from college he returned to Worland and worked two years as a counselor at the Wyoming Boys School and another three years working for the Department of Probation and Parole, learning first-hand about the workings of the system he now is involved in as a judge.
He spent three more years in insurance and real estate before entering law school in 1980.
“While I was in law school I worked during the day for a law firm,” Cranfill said. “I was a lobbyist.”
As such, Cranfill lobbied for physician's assistants to have prescription-writing privileges and also for the rights of podiatrists, life insurance agents, school districts and community college districts.
He completed his law degree in 1984.
As a member of the Northwest College board, Cranfill acquired a judge-like black robe that he wore to formal board functions such as graduation ceremonies.
When he was first appointed as district court judge, Cranfill had no “real” robe to wear in court, but he remembered the black garment in his closet.
“I tried it, but it just didn't look right, so I borrowed a robe from Judge Hartman,” Cranfill recalled.
As district court judge, Cranfill has presided in about 1,100 civil cases, 270 criminal cases, 225 juvenile cases, 425 probates and a number of adoptions.
The largest number of cases has been in marriage dissolutions (283), but he also has seen large numbers of criminal felony cases (208), mental health cases (127), probate of wills (106) and collection cases (187).
“There were days when we've had three district court judges here,” Cranfill said.
They have used the basement Alternate EOC Room as a courtroom on occasions.
“It's a busy docket,” Cranfill said. “We're scheduled almost into 2010.”
Judge Cranfill has administered the oath of citizenship to about 100 new U.S. citizens and finds that to be “moving.”
He also works with the Drug Court system, finding alternatives to jail for adults with addiction problems.
“It's a great alternative to putting people in prison who are serious about wanting help,” he says.
Cranfill was even able to recycle his NWC robes for one Drug Court ceremony.
“During my first Drug Court graduation, I loaned the (NWC) robe to a graduate,” the judge recalled. “He told me that was ‘cool.'”
Cranfill also has filled in twice as a judge in Wyoming Supreme Court cases.
“Both times I was asked to write the opinion,” he says.
Because his fifth judicial court docket is so full, the judge recently requested and received approval for the county to remodel the law library to also serve as a district courtroom.
Work should be completed soon.
While the position of judge is nonpartisan, Cranfill has “been all three,” Democrat, Republican and Independent, through the years, he said.
The judge has appreciation for those who serve on juries, all of whom have told him, in post-trial talks he always has with them, that serving was a “great service” that they were glad to have provided.
Cranfill feels much the same way about his work as a judge.-“It's been an honor to serve,” he says. “I enjoy the work - it's been challenging and rewarding.”
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