JEFFERSON CITY - The Appellate Judicial Commission is expected to conduct interviews Sept. 3 and 4 for applicants seeking to succeed Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Roy L. Richter who retired last month.
The commission will narrow a field of 19 candidates and provide Gov. Mike Parson a list of three from which he will appoint one to the Eastern District.
How interviews will be conducted due to COVID-19 concerns, however, has not yet been determined. According to a release from the state Supreme Court, the commission will make an announcement at a later time.
The demographics of the 19 candidates are: five report they are female and two report they are minority applicants. Seven are employed outside the St. Louis metropolitan area. Eight applicants work in the public sector, nine work in the private sector and two work in both. Of those in the private sector, four work in solo or small-firm practice. Of those in the public sector, six are trial court judges.
The applicants’ mean age is 51.6 years.
Those to be interviewed include: Deborah J. Alessi, Kelly C. Broniec, Thomas C. Clark, Robert W. Cornejo, Kathleen S. Hamilton, Douglas W. King, Joseph B. Kloecker, Jr., Ellen S. Levy, Fredrick J. Ludwig, Jeffery T. McPherson, Darrell E. Missey, Michael W. Noble, Eric S. Peterson, Michael D. Quinlan, David E. Roland, John P. Torbitzky, David R. Truman, M. Celeste Vossmeyer, Carl M. Ward.
Richter, first appointed to the court in 2006 by Republican Gov. Matt Blunt, served on the court from 2006 to 2020. He was retained in 2008 to a term ending that would have ended Dec. 31. He took senior status on July 13.
Before serving at the appeals court, Richter was an associate circuit judge and prosecuting attorney.
In 2015, Richter was assigned by the Missouri Supreme Court to preside over all of the City of Ferguson’s municipal court cases at St. Louis County Circuit Court. The assignment came upon the resignation of Judge Ronald Brockmeyer, and in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the death of Michael Brown.
Interviews for Richter's successor will be conducted at the Court of Appeals, Eastern District in St. Louis.
“Given fluctuating conditions and COVID-19 health considerations, the commission will announce at a later date how it will conduct the interviews and how the public can access them,” the announcement says.
The commission is expected to meet after interviews conclude to select the three nominees from this applicant pool for the governor’s consideration.