17 June 2020

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Appellate Judicial Commission is accepting applications for judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, to fill the vacancy created by the July 13, 2020 retirement of Judge Roy L. Richter after more than four decades of judicial service. Richter was the Montgomery County prosecuting attorney from 1977 through 1978. One of only two sitting judges in Missouri who began their judicial careers January 1, 1979, he served as magistrate then associate circuit judge and, beginning in 1990, also as juvenile division judge in Montgomery County (in the 12th Judicial Circuit) until his 2006 appointment to the appeals court. A past president of the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges and the Missouri Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Richter also served for many years on the Supreme Court of Missouri’s circuit court budget committee and municipal judge education committee. He was the Eastern District’s chief judge from July 2010 through June 2011 and was transferred by the Supreme Court of Missouri to preside over the Ferguson municipal division in 2015.

Citizens are encouraged to nominate well-qualified candidates for the commission’s consideration. The Missouri Constitution requires that a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals be at least 30 years old, licensed to practice law in Missouri, a United States citizen for at least 15 years and a qualified Missouri voter for at least nine years next preceding selection. Nominations should be submitted to the commission by e-mail at EDJudgeVacancy@courts.mo.gov, or by postal mail to Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District Judge Vacancy, P.O. Box 150, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The nomination form is available below.

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