On Friday, September 22, 2023, the Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct issued an order against David Andrew Ruder, a former municipal court judge for the City of Louisburg, Kansas. The Order found that Ruder violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and Kansas state law by serving as a municipal court judge while his law license was suspended.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of David Andrew Ruder,” with complaint nos. 2831, 2834, 2837, 2838 & 2840.
The charges cited in Code of Judicial Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 2.5(a) and K.S.A. 12-4114, which state:
A judge shall comply with the law and the Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct.
A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
A judge shall judicial and administrative duties, competently and diligently.
According to the order, Ruder had been admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 1996 but his law license had been suspended in 2002 for failing to meet his annual requirement and continuing legal education requirements. Despite this, Ruder had been appointed as a municipal court judge for the City of Louisburg in 2008 and served in that position until 2022.
The order stated that Ruder had never complied with the requirements of K.S.A. 12-4114, which required all municipal court judges who were not admitted to the practice of law in Kansas to successfully complete an examination administered by the Kansas Supreme Court and complete annual continuing judicial education requirements approved by the Supreme Court.
The Commission had determined that Ruder had violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, which required judges to comply with the law and act in a manner that promoted public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary. The Commission had also found that Ruder had violated the Code of Judicial Conduct, which required judges to perform judicial and administrative duties competently and diligently.
The order required Ruder to cease and desist from serving as a municipal court judge until he met the qualifications in K.S.A. 12-4114 and to agree that the order would be made public. The order also instructed the Secretary of the Commission on Judicial Conduct to serve a copy of the order on Ruder and required him to either accept the order in writing and return a signed copy to the Secretary or refuse to accept it in writing within 20 days after service of the order. If Ruder failed to respond within 20 days, the order would be deemed refused.
The Order states:
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that David Andrew Ruder: 1. cease and desist from serving as a municipal court judge until Respondent meets the qualifications in K.SA 12-4114; and 2. agree that this Order will be made public.”
Judge Ruder served as a municipal court judge for the City of Louisburg, Kansas located at 215 S Broadway St. Louisburg, and can be reached at 66053-3614. His info can be found on lkm.org.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
