15 September 2020
ST. LOUIS – The Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Michael L. Parson to fill the circuit judge vacancy in St. Louis County created by the retirement of Judge John Warner Jr. Those nominated by the commission are:
William M. Corrigan Jr. – Corrigan graduated in 1981 from Notre Dame University and in 1985 from University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. Corrigan is a partner at the law firm of Armstrong Teasdale LLP.
Virginia Lay – Lay graduated in 1990 from Columbia University and in 1993 from Washington University School of Law. Lay is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
Nicole Zellweger – Zellweger graduated in 1999 from the University of Georgia and in 2004 from Washington University School of Law. Zellweger is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
The commission received 24 applications, and the commission interviewed 24 applicants during one day of virtual online public interviews on September 15, 2020. The commission believes these nominees, chosen from a field of extremely qualified individuals, possess those qualities essential to the fair and efficient administration of justice. The commission is confident each of these individuals is capable of serving well and honorably if selected by the governor. Pursuant to Supreme Court of Missouri Rule 10.29, the commission reports the final votes received by each nominee were: Corrigan received four votes, Lay received five votes, and Zellweger received four votes.
The members of the Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission are: Judge Robert G. Dowd Jr., chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and commission chair; Tiffany Mapp Franklin, William P. Grant, Al Koller III, and Jeffrey D. Sigmund.
###
Note: The governor on November 6, 2020, appointed William Corrigan Jr. to fill this vacancy.
Note: Links to the nominees' applications typically are disabled once the governor fills the vacancy.
Contact: Laura Roy, clerk of court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
(314) 539-4300