The Honorable Shayla M. Lewis is a Municipal Court Judge for the 16th judicial circuit in Kansas City, Missouri. Judge Lewis presides over city ordinance violations ranging from traffic offenses to general crime.

Additionally, Judge Lewis presides over WIN Court (Women in Need of Change), a specialty court designed to rehabilitate justice involved women who have experienced trauma and substance misuse, and Truancy Court, a specialty court that aims to keep young people in school through graduation.  Judge Lewis serves on the Missouri Supreme Court Commission for Racial and Ethnic Fairness and volunteers with the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Student Law Academy and other community organizations as requested.

Prior to becoming judge, Ms. Lewis served as District Defender and Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Missouri State Public Defender, where she litigated cases ranging from misdemeanors through felonies, including murder in the first degree. As Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, she developed and lead statewide human resource policy on equity and employee relations. Ms. Lewis was in private practice in several different areas of law before joining the public defender.