13th Judicial Circuit of Missouri

Judge Harris was appointed to the 13th Circuit in April 2016 and has been elected since 2017. He presides over civil, criminal and family court matters. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Harris served as Policy Director for former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. Judge Harris was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, serving as House Minority Leader and House Minority Whip. Judge Harris is also a former Missouri Assistant Attorney General and was a trial attorney with the multinational law firm Bryan Cave LLP and the law firm of Atwill & Montgomery. Judge Harris is a graduate of the Cornell Law School, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review . He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude. After graduating from Cornell, Judge Harris clerked for the Hon. William H. Barbour, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Judge Harris is also a graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive program. Judge Harris has sat with the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, by special designation.

Judge Harris was a member of the 2004 Democratic National Convention Rules Committee, and among other honors, he has received the University of Missouri Presidential Citation Award; the Champion of Justice Award; the Defender of Patient Safety Award; the Betty Saunders Elected Officeholder Award; the AFSCME Champion of Service Award; the SSM Cardinal Glennon Champion of Children Award; the Hickman High School Outstanding Alumnus Award, and he was inducted into the Columbia Public Schools Foundation Outstanding Alumni Hall of Leaders. Judge Harris is a member of Missouri United Methodist Church.

13th Judicial Circuit of MissouriDivision 2

Important Links