CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon has announced the appointment of Keith Kautz as Wyoming Attorney General beginning on July 7.
The Attorney General’s Office is Wyoming’s primary state law enforcement agency, and also provides a full range of legal services to statewide elected officials, agencies and State employees in the conduct of official State business.
Kautz will replace Ryan Schelhaas who is currently serving as interim Attorney General following the departure of Bridget Hill.
“I am honored to serve Wyoming and to work with the outstanding staff at the Attorney General’s office,” Kautz said in a statement.
According to the Governor’s Office, Kautz served as a justice on the Wyoming Supreme Court from 2015 until 2024, when he turned 70 and was required by Wyoming’s Constitution to retire from the bench. From 1993 until 2015, he served as a District Court Judge for the Eighth District covering Converse, Goshen, Niobrara and Platte counties. He previously served as a private practice attorney in Torrington as a partner in the firm Sawyer, Warren & Kautz. Kautz grew up in Torrington and earned his bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Wyoming.
“When accepting my offer to serve as Wyoming’s 39th Attorney General, I was delighted to hear Justice Kautz quote George Washington who, when selecting our country’s first attorney general, stated that ‘the due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government,’” Governor Gordon said in the announcement. “I share that view, and know that Justice Kautz has the talent, experience and skill to fulfill this important duty, as well as provide the due administration of justice to the people of Wyoming. We are fortunate that he desires to continue to serve our great state, and I look forward to his leadership in this most essential office.”
The Governor’s Office wrote via press release that the Attorney General’s Office provides a full spectrum of services, ranging from statewide criminal investigations performed by the Division of Criminal Investigation; initial and advanced law enforcement training provided by the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy; and crime victim advocacy and victim support programs and payments through the Division of Victim Services. The Attorney General’s Office also provides administrative support to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission and the Wyoming Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.
