Now that Gov. Mike Parson has appointed Reneé Hardin-Tammons to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District, the 21st Circuit Judicial Commission is accepting applications to fill her vacancy on the St. Louis County Circuit Court.
“I don't understand how the governor makes decisions, but he always makes really good ones,” said Judge Lisa Page. “She had a tough panel so she should feel really, really good about the fact that she was selected.”
The other finalists who were recommended to Parson by the commission included Kathleen S. Hamilton of the HeplerBroom law firm and St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen S. Levy.
“The two others are very, very qualified women who are highly respected,” said Page. “One was a trial attorney, and one is a trial judge who's involved in a lot of things as well. So, the fact that the governor selected her over those two, she should feel very good about herself.”
Hardin-Tammons had been a circuit judge in St. Louis County. She will fill the vacancy on the Eastern District Court of Appeals which was created by Judge Colleen Dolan’s retirement.
“I have gotten to know her through talking to her about the judicial selection process,” Page said about Hardin-Tammons. “I encouraged her to apply for the circuit judge vacancy when she was an associate, and she was appointed, which was a very good thing for the St. Louis County bench.”
Hardin-Tammons obtained her bachelor of science in the administration of justice from the University of Missouri–St. Louis and a juris doctor from the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law.
"Judge Hardin-Tammons brings a wealth of experience from her legal career and tenure on the circuit bench to the Court of Appeals," Parson said in a statement online. "She represents the values that are important for the judiciary, including a faithful interpretation of the law, a drive for excellence, and a tireless work ethic.”
Hardin-Tammons will be sitting on the December docket on a panel along with Page and Judge Thom Clark.
“It's about a one-year assignment,” Page told the St. Louis Record. “We are assigned to a panel of three by the chief judge and the assignment changes on July 1st every year. Cases are drawn out of a hat by our judicial administrative assistant.”
Page expects that Hardin-Tammons will experience a culture shock in shifting from being a trial court judge to an appellate judge.
“That takes a lot of adjustment just because your work habits change so dramatically,” she said. “You only have court one day a month, but you work really hard the rest of the month either writing opinions or getting ready for oral arguments. Hardin-Tammons is asking everybody how they work. She's already investigating best practices.”
Applications for the Hardin-Tammons vacancy on the St. Louis Circuit Court are due by Nov. 4 with the commission expecting to conduct public interviews on Dec. 19 and 20.
“Everybody's experiences are so different and the more diversity of experience that you have on a court with the different voices, the different backgrounds, the different legal backgrounds, and the more that we don't look and think alike, the better our work product becomes,” Page added.