The 21st Circuit Judicial Commission is accepting applications to fill a circuit court seat, which will be vacated by Judge Michael Burton who was first appointed to the St. Louis bench in 2004 and became presiding judge last year.
“I would not want to be the person to replace Michael Burton that is for darn sure,” said Eastern District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Page. “He is going to leave huge shoes to fill.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Burger, 61, is withdrawing from the bench to complete a one-year leadership program at his alma mater in Indiana, the University of Notre Dame.
“Michael Burton is probably one of the most generous in giving his time and talent,” Page told the St. Louis Record. “The entire bench is going to miss him, his sense of humor and warmth. I know I personally will miss getting to see him at Judicial Education functions. Notre Dame just hit the jackpot in my personal and professional opinion.”
Burton is leaving at a time when he is accused of sending an ex-parte email involving immigration attorney Evita Tolu and court insiders, according to media reports. Tolu’s complaint alleges that a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), a psychologist, and a social worker drained her finances in family court litigation and gave custody of her children to their alleged abuser. Tolu practices law in Florida, Missouri, and Hawaii.
Page said Burton is well-versed in domestic violence issues.
“I completed the Domestic Violence Summit with him in 2013 where Missouri’s Judicial Education Program sent us all over the country to learn best practices in domestic violence cases in the courts and when we came back, we held what was called a domestic violence summit for trial judges,” Page said. “Not only did I learn a tremendous amount but I think he could have been teaching the people in those other states about domestic violence. He's just that good.”
Before becoming an appellate judge for the Eastern District, Page was a circuit judge in Jefferson County at the same time that Burton was a circuit judge in St. Louis County.
“The St. Louis County bench is exceptional,” Page said. “He is leaving a hole just because he's a leader, he's a good person and he's got so much experience but I have absolute faith that the judges in St. Louis County are going to make sure that the courts continue to function like they always have.”
Burton is a trial law practice professor at Washinton University School of Law who served as a public defender and subsequently joined the Margulis, Grant, Burton & Margulis law firm first specializing in criminal defense and family law and then partner.
“He was already just so knowledgeable about this area of domestic violence in general and he’s just a phenomenal educator as well as a trial judge,” Page said. “In the area of domestic violence, he's second to none as far as his knowledge.”
Applications must be received by Aug. 13 as the Commission, chaired by Eastern District Court of Appeal Chief Judge Sherri B. Sullivan, is scheduled to interview applicants on Sept. 27 and 28 at the St. Louis County Courts Building, Court Room 334, 105 S. Central in Clayton, according to a press release.
"When I was chief judge of the Eastern District, I was the chair of the judicial commission that selected the panel," Page added. "The lawyers and the laypeople on that commission are very, very knowledgeable about the needs of the bench and they know everybody who's applying. They are very dedicated to examining each person who's applied for this vacancy and putting together really stellar panels, which makes the governor really think about who he is going select."
Members of the commission include Tiffany Mapp Franklin, William P. Grant, Al Koller III, and Jeffrey D. Sigmund, secretary of the commission.