WyoProfile: Judge Melissa Owens, arbiter of Wyoming’s abortion ban suit - WyoFile

On July 27, 2022, only seven months after her appointment to the district court bench in Teton County, Judge Melissa Owens blocked Wyoming’s abortion ban hours after it went into effect. Until that time, she had worked in relative obscurity — at least outside of legal circles — as a defense attorney, prosecutor, private practice lawyer and municipal judge. Suddenly, she found herself overseeing what has since become a 17-month legal battle over the future of abortion rights in Wyoming, including a first-of-its-kind attempt to ban medication abortions. Twice state...