The 31st Circuit Judicial Commission conducted three days of public hearings, interviewed 20 applicants, and selected a panel of three nominees for the position of circuit judge of the 31st Judicial Circuit, created by the September 2022 appointment of the Honorable Becky Borthwick to the Missouri Court of Appeals. The nominees are:
Joshua B. Christensen, an attorney with Kutak Rock LLP;
Ann Mills, an attorney with Courtney & Mills law firm; and
S. Jacob Sappington, an attorney with Baty Otto Coronado Scheer Firm.
The commission believes these three candidates, chosen from a field of extremely qualified individuals, possess those qualities essential to the fair and efficient administration of justice. The commission is confident that all of these individuals are capable of serving well and honorably if selected by the governor. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 10.20, the commission notes the final votes received by each nominee after two and one-half hours of deliberation were: Christensen received five votes, Mills received five votes, and Sappington received five votes.
The commission has submitted the panel to Governor Michael Parson, who will have 60 days to appoint one of the nominees as circuit judge.
The commission is chaired by Chief Judge Jack Goodman of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, and is composed of attorneys Deborah Dodge and Kurt Larson, and lay members Kim Hancock and Dr. Fred McQueary.
Original source can be found here.