Wichita native Baron Hoy is breaking new ground with his recent appointment as Assistant City Attorney and City Prosecutor for the City of Newton, Kansas. In addition to assisting the City Attorney with legal matters concerning the municipal government, he also serves as the City Prosecutor.
In his prosecutorial role, Hoy represents Newton in all cases on the city’s weekly docket involving violations of municipal laws and codes. He negotiates plea deals, considers settlements, and collaborates with defense attorneys representing their clients in court.
Hoy is the first African American to hold either of these positions in Newton. He joined the city’s staff in February.
Hoy,29, is a graduate of Derby High School and the son of Jack Hoy and the late Wanda Caesar. With his Native American heritage, he was able to attend and graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS.
From the age of five, Hoy aspired to be an actor. He took classes at Wichita Children’s Theater, secured an agent, and landed a role in the 2007 movie The Grey Man. However, his leadership roles at Haskell steered him toward a different path.
As a member of the student senate, he represented student interests before the Board of Regents and participated in moot court competitions.
“I was really great at it,” said Hoy. “So I just said, ‘Okay, well, let me just do the full thing and jump right in.'”
That leap led him to Washburn University School of Law. During law school, he was selected to participate in a student cohort for Stanford University’s Indigenous Economics Program, led by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
His impressive background also includes an externship with U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Gwynne Birzer and serving as a tribal attorney for the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation.
Hoy completed law school in 2023 and spent a year preparing for the bar exam. In September 2024, he was notified that he had passed the Uniform Bar Exam, allowing him to practice law in 41 jurisdictions, including 38 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
While studying for the bar, Hoy worked as a law clerk and later as a junior associate at the Wichita office of a national law firm. After passing the bar exam, he was hired full-time by the firm to handle family and probate law cases.
He credits many individuals for his success, including his mentors Judge Birzer and Attorney Robert Moody of Martin Pringle and Associates in Wichita. He also honors his mother, whom he calls his rock.
Hoy passed the bar one month before his mother passed away and is grateful she lived to see him achieve that milestone.
Currently, Hoy is not active in any local organizations but looks forward to becoming involved in the community and to staying around for a while.