Chief Judge Kenneth L. Buettner District 5, Office 1

Judge Kenneth Buettner was appointed to the Court of Civil Appeals by Gov. Frank Keating and was sworn in Feb. 26, 1996. He served as Vice-Chief Judge in 2004 and as Chief Judge since January 2005. He has been a member of the Executive Board of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference since 2002, serving as president of the Conference in 2005.

Buettner was born and raised in Oklahoma City, graduating from John Marshall High School. He received a B.A. degree from Texas Christian University in 1972 and a J.D. degree from Southern Methodist University in 1975. He has completed additional graduate work at the University of Denver and the University of Central Oklahoma. From 1976 to 1980, Judge Buettner served in the United States Air Force JAG Corps. In 1980, he joined a major Oklahoma City law firm and engaged in a general litigation practice until his appointment to the bench.

Judge Buettner's civic activities include participation in Leadership Edmond Class IX and Leadership Oklahoma Class XVI. He is a trustee of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, serving as Co-chair of the Outreach Committee. He was a trustee (1995-2001) and President of the Edmond Public Schools Foundation (1997). He is also a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and has served on its Parish Council, Finance Committee, Board of Christian Education, Building Committee and Peru Mission Board. From 1990-2003, he was an adult volunteer with the middle school and high school youth groups.

Judge Buettner has been active in the Oklahoma Bar Association, serving on the Civil Procedure Committee, Bench and Bar Committee, and Diversity Committee. He has also served on various committees of the Oklahoma County Bar Association and was Vice-President (1999-2000). He is also a Sustaining Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and a Master in the Luther Bohanon Inn of Court.

Buettner and his wife, Barbara, of Tulsa, have been married for 30 years and have two children, Amy and Jeremiah.