Gov. Mike Parson is reviewing three nominees submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission to fill a vacancy in the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals.
“Among the three individuals who were nominated two of them are partners at large law firms and the third is an employee of the Attorney General's office,” said Beth Riggert, communications counsel with the Supreme Court of Missouri. “Because there is a diversity of backgrounds of the individuals who apply, you'll end up with a fairly solid list of credentials for the people who are nominated."
The vacancy was created by Judge Robin Ransom’s departure to the Supreme Court of Missouri after she was appointed by Gov. Parson in May.
The nominees are Kathleen S. Hamilton, Jeffery T. McPherson, and Cristian M. Stevens.
“There are seven commissioners on the Appellate Judicial Commission and each of the seven commissioners voted for these three individuals in the last round of voting to be nominees,” Riggert told the St. Louis Record. "The idea is to give the governor three good choices.”
The Appellate Judicial Commission hosted four hours of public interviews, two hours of deliberations, and seven rounds of balloting before settling on Hamilton, McPherson, and Stevens, according to a press release.
“All of the nonpartisan commissions are supposed to look for three well-qualified individuals,” Riggert said. “The application asks candidates to list all of their education. They have to list all of the jobs that they've had, both legal jobs and non-legal jobs, as well as all of the significant employment that they've held, and list all of the community activities they're involved in. If they've been called upon to present continuing legal education seminars, or if they wrote articles about the law and to the extent that they're engaged in civic education activities, they have to provide samples of their work for people to examine.”
Of the 12 candidates who applied for Judge Ransom’s position, three were female, one identified as being a minority, four were employed outside the St. Louis Metro area, seven work in the public sector, five work in the private sector, and of those in the private sector, one was in solo practice. Their mean age was 52.3 years old.
“If you look at the dates of birth of the three people who were just nominated, one was born in 1976,” Riggert added. “One was born in 1965 and one was born in 1973. So, all would be able, if chosen, to more than serve a 12-year term in office if not longer.”
Hamilton, born in 1976, is a partner at HeplerBroom LLC in St. Louis and resides in St. Charles. She earned her bachelor of arts in history and English in 1999 from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, and her law degree in 2002 from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.
McPherson, born in 1965, is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis and resides in Webster Groves. He earned his bachelor of arts in English in 1990 from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and his law degree, magna cum laude, in 1994 from Saint Louis University School of Law.
Stevens, born in 1973, is the first assistant attorney general for the Missouri Attorney General’s office in Jefferson City and resides in Kirkwood. He earned his bachelor of arts, magna cum laude with honors, in political science in 1995 and his law degree, cum laude, in 1998, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia.