The Hon. Jenifer J. Ashford is a district magistrate for the 10th Judicial District Court of Kansas in Johnson County. She was appointed to the bench by the 10th Judicial District Judicial Nominating Commission on May 8, 2017.
Prior to her appointment, Ashford spent seven years as a municipal prosecutor in both Shawnee and Lake Quivira, having served in those capacities since 2010. Before that, she worked for three years as an assistant prosecuting attorney with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in Missouri (2007 to 2010) and was also an assistant district attorney with the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office (2002 to 2007) and an assistant city attorney for the City of St. Louis in Missouri (2000 to 2002). Ashford began her legal career with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in Missouri in 1997.
She received a B.S. from Kansas State University in 1994. Ashford then completed a J.D. at the University of Kansas School of Law in 1997.
Her memberships include the Kanas City Metropolitan Bar Association, the Johnson County Bar Association, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Kansas District Magistrate Judges Association (past president), and the Kansas Bar Association.
Ashford is the recipient of the Lee Nusser Award for Outstanding Magistrate Judge of 2022 from the Kansas District Magistrate Judges Association.
She was raised on a farm near Summerfield in Marshall County, Kansas, and attended Marysville High School.