Judge Kate A. Toomey took the oath of office in September 2014 after her appointment to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Gary Herbert. Prior to her appointment, she was a Third District Court Judge for nearly eight years. Judge Toomey graduated from the University of Maryland in 1991, served as a judicial law clerk with the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, then joined the Maryland Public Defender's Office. She was an associate with the Salt Lake City law firm Anderson & Karrenberg from 1993 until 1996, when she became employed by the Office of Professional Conduct. Judge Toomey was the managing editor of the University of Maryland Law Review, the managing editor, then editor-in-chief of Voir Dire, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Utah Bar Journal. She was a member of the Board of District Court Judges and of the Grand Jury panel of judges. Judge Toomey currently serves as a member of the Judicial Council and the Utah Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Convener of Dividing the Waters, a network offering resources for judges resolving water law conflicts.