Judge Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer has been succeeded at the Southern District Missouri Court of Appeals by Judge Jennifer Growcock, according to the court's press announcement.
Gov. Mike Parson selected Growcock from a panel of three candidates last month. The other two candidates were Joseph L. Hensley, an associate circuit judge and the presiding juvenile judge in Jasper County in the 29th Judicial Circuit, and Laura J. Johnson, the presiding judge of the 38th Judicial Circuit in Christian County.
“Jennifer Growcock is from Oskaloosa, Iowa, she went to the University of Iowa for undergraduate school and went to Nebraska Law School,” Rahmeyer told the St. Louis Record. “I am from Ottumwa, Iowa, which is 30 miles away from Oskaloosa, and I went to Iowa State University for undergraduate school. So, I've had a soft spot for her for a long time.”
At the University of Iowa, Growcock earned her bachelor of arts in English with minors in political science and psychology, and had been a circuit judge in the 38th Judicial Circuit in Ozark County
“I saw a lot of her decisions when I was on the court and they were well thought out and logical,” Rahmeyer said about Growcock’s writing. “I just never worried when I would read her rulings. She clearly knows how to communicate and I think she'll just keep getting better if she needs any improvement, which I doubt.”
Rahmeyer was appointed by Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, and was chief judge of the Southern District Missouri Court of Appeals from July 2002 to June 2004 and July 2017 to June 2019.
"It's a whole different environment than when I started," she said about the court. "There are very collegial coworkers and Judge Growcock will fit in great with that. She brings collegiality to the court. She's aware of interpretations of what an opinion might say and I think she will pay attention to detail. She will understand that and that's important."
Rahmeyer has only been retired since October but has already identified a new opportunity.
“I am going to be of counsel with my son,” she said. “He is going on his own in private practice. I was a senior judge for a couple of cases that we had pending and I need to be officially off of those. I've called the clerk because you cannot be a senior judge and be in practice.”
Grant Rahmeyer, formerly a shareholder at the Strong-Garner-Bauer law firm in Springfield since 2012, specializes in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and product liability litigation.
“I will basically be doing mostly appellate work,” the retired judge said. “You get the trial transcript, you go through it and look for any legal issues and for anything to appeal on. Then, you go from there.”