Gov. Mike Parson elevated Associate Circuit Judge Lynne R. Perkins to the circuit bench in St. Louis on June 2.
Perkins earned his law degree from Washington University and first became a judge in 2017 by Gov. Eric Greitens’ appointment.
“Associate circuit judges do a lot of bench trials and they make rulings on initial bond determinations in a criminal case,” said Judge Kelly C. Broniec. “They hear the case through a preliminary hearing. Associate judges will hear smaller civil cases, small claims cases, and landlord-tenant cases.”
Now that Perkins has been appointed to succeed Judge Michael K. Mullen, he will hear more jury trials.
“Jury trials in criminal cases happen in the circuit division, and then bigger monetary amounts of civil cases happen in the circuit division,” Judge Broniec told the St. Louis Record. “That's not to say that an associate circuit judge couldn't be assigned to hear those cases in circuit division but if so assigned, they'd be acting as a circuit judge. Generally, certain cases go to associate division and certain cases go to circuit division, so you're more likely to hear more jury trials in circuit division.”
Broniec was appointed as a judge to the Missouri Court of Appeals-Eastern District in 2020 and has since been elected Chief Judge.
Perkins served as a Missouri assistant public defender in the St. Louis City Trial Office, practiced law privately, and is a member of The Missouri Bar, the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges, the Mound City Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, judicial commissions for each district review applications, and interview candidates before selecting three nominees from which the governor appoints one person.
“Interviews are open to the public, so anyone can come in and watch the interviews if they wish,” Broniec said in an interview. “Then, when all the interviews are done, the commission meets privately and votes for the three finalists. Once they have a consensus on who the three finalists should be, those names are announced, the applicants are notified, and the three names are sent to the governor's office.”
The judicial commissions are also responsible for selecting nominees for vacancies on the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals. Gov. Mike Parson is required to make a final decision among the three finalists within 60 days.
“The governor goes through their selection process, and it might include a questionnaire or a criminal background check, and then interviews as well,” Broniec added.
The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan was adopted by ballot initiative in the 1940s. It is designed to be a merit-based and non-partisan process for selecting judges.
The general public is encouraged to submit commentary on each candidate to the judicial commission.