Attorneys Back Four Judges for November Retention Vote
Wyoming State Bar survey recommends retaining Judge Bobbi Overfield, Justices Robert Jarosh and Bridget Hill, and Chancery Court Judge Ben Burningham on the 2026 ballot.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Criminal Justice
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Do you trust Wyoming judges enough to vote them back on the bench?
Attorneys surveyed by the Wyoming State Bar overwhelmingly recommended retaining four judges on the November 2026 ballot. Voters will decide whether to keep Judge Bobbi Overfield, Justices Robert Jarosh and Bridget Hill, and Chancery Court Judge Ben Burningham on the bench.
Why it matters
Retention elections let voters decide whether sitting judges remain in office, and the State Bar's survey gives voters attorney-based performance ratings to consider. Park County voters are among those who will help decide whether the four judges stay on the bench.
Attorneys rated judges in 11 performance categories through the State Bar's Judicial Performance Assessment, with 89.5% of 276 attorneys backing Jarosh and 87.4% of 309 backing Hill. The survey results are attorney opinions and do not reflect the outcome of the public vote.
The players
Wyoming State Bar
The state's mandatory professional association for attorneys, which commissioned the judicial performance survey.
Robert Jarosh
A Wyoming Supreme Court justice who is on the November 2026 retention ballot.
Bridget Hill
A Wyoming Supreme Court justice who is on the November 2026 retention ballot.
Ben Burningham
A Wyoming Chancery Court judge who is on the November 2026 retention ballot.
Bobbi Overfield
A Fifth Judicial District Court judge from Thermopolis who is on the November 2026 retention ballot.
The details
The Wyoming State Bar commissioned a judicial survey in which attorneys who practiced before the judges rated them across 11 performance categories. Overfield, appointed to the Fifth Judicial District Court bench in October 2018, was previously retained by voters in 2020 with 84.2% support across four Big Horn Basin counties.
Timeline
October 2018: Overfield is appointed to the Fifth Judicial District Court bench.
2020: Voters retain Overfield with 84.2% support.
January 2025: Burningham is appointed as the first dedicated Chancery Court judge.
January 2026: The Wyoming Supreme Court rules 4-1 that the Legislature's abortion bans violated women's constitutional right to make their own health care decisions.
February 2026: Judge Simpson reaches mandatory retirement age.
Judicial Accountability
Wyoming's retention election system asks voters to decide whether sitting judges remain on the bench rather than choosing between challengers. The 2026 ballot continues that process for four judges, with attorney survey results available to voters ahead of the vote.
Voters in Park County and across Wyoming will decide in November whether to retain the four judges on the bench. The State Bar's survey results are available to help voters evaluate each judge's performance before casting a ballot.
The takeaway
Attorney evaluations of judges are one input voters can weigh before casting a retention ballot. Reviewing the published assessment results before November can help voters make an informed choice.
What happens next
Wyoming voters will decide on the four judges in the November 2026 general election.
Further reading
For more on how courts are run across the state, see Wyoming Criminal Justice.
More information
Review the full Wyoming State Bar judicial assessment results for the complete survey data on each judge.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Powell Tribune.
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Do you trust Wyoming judges enough to vote them back on the bench?
