Kansas judge drops leadership of appeals court

A veteran Kansas judge will step down as chief judge of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Judge Mary Beck Briscoe said she will remain on the court, but give up her position as chief judge at the end of September. The chief judge oversees the appeals court and federal district courts in a six-state region. President Clinton appointed the Lawrence resident to the federal court in 1995. Before that, she had been chief judge of the Kansas appeals court.