Alan B. Johnson has been selected to receive the prestigious 2026 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Tenth Circuit. Johnson is a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. He will receive the award at a special awards ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in September.

“Judge Alan B. Johnson’s storied career… include[s] more than 40 years as an active U.S. district court judge for the District of Wyoming,” writes Julie Hill, dean and chair of the College of Law at the University of Wyoming. “Still, Judge Johnson’s long and impressive resume does not adequately communicate his character and professionalism. Judge Johnson is someone with a deep love and respect for the rule of law.”

Johnson became a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming in 1985 and served as chief judge between 1992 and 1999. His previous judicial career includes serving as a judge in Wyoming District Court between 1974 and 1985, serving as a substitute judge for the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Municipal Court between 1973 and 1974, and serving as U.S. magistrate for the U.S District Court for the District of Wyoming from 1971 to 1974. He was in private practice in Cheyenne from 1968 to 1974.

Johnson has also had a military career. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a member of the Judge Advocate Corps from 1964 to 1967. He has served in the Wyoming Air National Guard since 1973.

Johnson is an active member in the Ewing T. Kerr American Inn of Court. He has also served as vice president of the Federal Judges Association and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He is also engaged in his community more broadly. He is on the board of advisors for the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, which collects historical documents, artifacts, and other items associated with Wyoming and the American West more generally. He was president of the Cheyenne Rotary Club from 1983 to 1984.

Johnson earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in 1961, then earned his law degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1964. The Cheyenne native received the College of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. The organization’s membership includes nearly 30,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in 350 chapters nationwide. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.

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