Appellate Judicial Commission Elections
The Appellate Judicial Commission accepts applications and selects three candidates to fill judicial vacancies on the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals -- without regard to political affiliation. The governor appoints one of the three candidates submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. The seven-member commission consists of a Supreme Court judge and two resident citizens from each of the three Court of Appeals districts. In selecting the citizen members, one lawyer is elected from each district by The Missouri Bar members in that district, and one non-lawyer is appointed from each district by the governor. An election for a lawyer member is held every two years in one of the districts of the Court of Appeals. Voting begins in October and votes are counted the first Saturday in November. If a run-off election is required for a candidate to obtain a majority of the votes, the votes in the run-off are counted five weeks after the original election. A list of Appellate Judicial Commission members appears on the Missouri Judiciary web site. | Circuit Judicial Commission Elections
The Circuit Judicial Commissions accept applications and select three candidates to fill judicial vacancies on the circuit courts of the city of St. Louis and Clay, Jackson, Platte and St. Louis counties. The governor appoints one of the three candidates submitted by the Circuit Judicial Commissions. Each five-member commission consists of the chief judge of the district of the Court of Appeals in which the circuit is located and four residents of the circuit. In selecting the resident members, two lawyers are elected by members of The Missouri Bar in that circuit, and two non-lawyers are appointed by the governor. The chief judge serves for two years. All other members serve staggered terms of six years each. A list of Circuit Judicial Commission members appears on the Missouri Judiciary web site. |