Gov. Mike Parson has appointed Circuit Judge Janet Sutton to succeed Judge Tom Newton on the Western District Court of Appeals, according to the court’s press announcement.
Newton retired in July and Gov. Parson selected Sutton from a panel of three nominees last month.
The other two candidates were deputy attorney general Shaun J. Mackelprang and Jackson County Circuit Judge Jalilah Otto.
Prior to serving as a judge on the 7th Circuit Court, Sutton was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Clay County.
“When you're the prosecuting attorney, the rulings tend to go your way the majority of the time,” said former Court of Appeals Judge Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer. “They just do, but it's a whole different deal after prosecuting for several years and going to court as an advocate. Now, you're supposed to hear both sides and you're supposed to be fair to both sides.”
Rahmeyer added that relinquishing the role of advocate for a prosecutor-turned-judge isn't always easy.
“As a judge, you're supposed to be open to the possibility that a defendant may be innocent in a criminal case and you don't prejudge in a civil case,” she said.
Sutton earned a bachelor of arts in communications studies from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a juris doctor from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law. She is the fourth woman to be appointed to the 11-member Western District Court of Appeals.
“It's important to have lots of different perspectives in all sorts of areas,” Rahmeyer told the St. Louis Record. “I also think it's important for us to get more trial attorneys on the court of appeals. Right now, you almost have to go through the public sector to get that.”
Rahmeyer was the first woman judge on the Southern District Missouri Court of Appeals. She was chief judge from July 2002 to June 2004 and July 2017 to June 2019.
“I like to see a balance,” she said. “I would also like to see more defense attorneys on the courts. That has not been very common. So, I would like to see a mix.”