Yvonne Kauger (born August 3, 1937) is an American attorney and judge who served as a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1984 to 2024.
[2] Upon getting her driver's license, Kauger accepted a summer job at a small law firm and she played basketball in high school.
[4] Starting in 1972, Kauger worked as a staff attorney for Justice Ralph B. Hodges until she was appointed to succeed him on the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
[4] In 1986, Chief Justice John B. Doolin appointed Kauger to establish and coordinate the Sovereignty Symposium, which has become an annual two-day event sponsored by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
The symposium attracts national and international experts and tribal leaders to discuss topics connected to art, law and history.
[4] Kauger received the Herbert Harley Award from the American Judicature Society in 1999 and was inducted into the Washita County Hall of Fame.
[9][10] On November 14, 2023, by the original 5–4 vote, the Oklahoma Supreme Court maintained the "life of mother" exception for the abortion ban.
Kauger wrote a three sentence concurrence: "One of the dissents states:"Any analysis of an abortion statute that proceeds under the proposition that the life of the unborn is unworthy of consideration is defective."