A native of Leavenworth, he was appointed to the court in 1993 after a career in private practice in his hometown and working for the federal bankruptcy court in Kansas.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the court, and it has been a very gratifying and a humbling experience for me,” Green said. “It was gratifying because as a judge, you must reflect often on whether you have allowed any prejudices, biases, or value judgments to creep into your thinking which may cloud your decision-making process.”

Green earned bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from Kansas State University. Only two years into his college career, his father died in an automobile accident. He wanted to return home to help his mother, but she made him stay in school and finish his education.

After graduation, she told him to keep going, so he enrolled at the University of Kansas School of Law. In law school he was a research assistant and vice president of his third-year class.

It was also there that he met his wife, Shirley.

After law school, the couple moved to Leavenworth where Green set up his law practice from the front porch of the family home. He was the first Black attorney to open a law office in Leavenworth since the late 1930s.