The Hon. John J. Bryant is a judge for the 1st Judicial District Court of Kansas. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Laura Kelly on February 8, 2021, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Robert Bednar.
The 1st Judicial District encompasses Leavenworth County and Atchison County.
Prior to his appointment, Bryant handled criminal defense matters as a sole practitioner in his own private practice, a law firm he opened in 2014. Before that, he was an assistant attorney general in the Fraud and Medicaid Abuse Division of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office (2012 to 2014).
Bryant earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kansas in 1996. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Kansas School of Law in 2000. As a law student, he interned with the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project (1999 to 2000) and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office (2000).
After graduating from law school, Bryant began his legal career as an assistant district attorney with the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office. He served in that capacity until 2009, at which time he was hired as a deputy county attorney for the Leavenworth County Attorney’s Office.
His memberships have included the Leavenworth County Bar Association, the Wyandotte County Bar Association, and the Lecompton Historical Society.