Chief Judge, Delaware Family Court
Breakout Session Presenter: Using Federal, State and Local Data to Inform Change
Chief Judge Kuhn served as a Judge in the Family Court of the State of Delaware from 1998 until her appointment to Chief Judge of Family Court in 2003. Prior to her appointment to Family Court, Chief Judge Kuhn completed a judicial clerkship with the Delaware Supreme Court and practiced in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation and family law from 1989 to 1998. Chief Judge Kuhn graduated cum laude from the Delaware Law School of Widener University and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Chief Judge Kuhn is active in the areas of juvenile justice, domestic violence prevention and the prevention of child abuse. In the area of juvenile justice, Chief Judge Kuhn serves as the Vice-Chair of the Delaware Criminal Justice Council, Co-Chair of the Juvenile Justice Collaborative and serves as a member of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group, the Sentencing Accountability Commission, the Juvenile Justice Review Task Force, and the Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition. Chief Judge Kuhn serves on the Governor’s Child Protection Accountability Commission and the Executive Committee of the Wilmington Hope Commission.
Chief Judge Kuhn has implemented many successful programs within the Family Court during her tenure as Chief Judge. She founded the Delaware Girls Initiative, which is now a self-funded advocacy organization focused on Delaware’s at risk girls. In 2009 Chief Judge Kuhn initiated Gun Court in Delaware’s Family Court with the support and cooperation of the Attorney General’s Office, the Public Defenders’ Office and the Department of Services for Children. More recently, Chief Judge Kuhn has made significant contributions in educating Delawareans about child abuse, and how it can be prevented by teaming up with the Stewards of Children training program. Chief Judge Kuhn is also an Empowered Yoga certified instructor. She is seeking ways to use yoga in the juvenile rehabilitation process.