The Appellate Judicial Commission announced today that it is accepting applications for judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. The panel hopes to forward three names to the Governor in June.
Citizens are encouraged to nominate well-qualified candidates for the commission’s consideration. The Missouri Constitution requires that a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals be at least 30 years old, licensed to practice law in Missouri, a United States citizen for at least 15 years and a qualified Missouri voter for at least nine years preceding selection.
Nominations should be submitted to the commission by mail to Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Judge Vacancy, P.O. Box 150, Jefferson City, MO 65102. You may also submit names via e-mail at [email protected]. The nomination form an instructions are available online here.
Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, April 29, 2016.
The commission expects to meet Monday and Tuesday, June 6 and 7, 2016, at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District at 1300 Oak Street in Kansas City, to interview applicants and select a panel of three nominees for the governor’s consideration. The interviews will be open to the public. The names of those to be interviewed and information relating to the number and characteristics of all applicants will be released publicly prior to the beginning of the interviews.
The vacancy on the court was created by the retirement of Judge Joseph M. Ellis. Judge Ellis retired on March 1 after nearly three decades of judicial service, including the last 23 years on the appeals court. He was in the private practice of law in Macon from 1972 – also serving six years as the municipal judge for the city of Macon – until his August 1993 appointment to the appeals court. He served as the court’s chief judge from July 2002 through June 2004 and served as chair of The Missouri Bar’s division of judicial administration since 2004. Judge Ellis also served on the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline from 2007 to 2012 and was the commission’s chair in 2011.