29 June 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – By order of the Court, Supreme Court of Missouri Judge Mary R. Russell will assume the role of chief justice beginning July 1. Her term as chief justice will run through June 30, 2025. She succeeds Judge Paul C. Wilson, who remains on the Court.

Russell, the third woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri since statehood in 1821, is currently the most senior in tenure on the Court. A seventh-generation Missourian, Russell was raised on a dairy farm near Hannibal and graduated valedictorian of her class at Hannibal High School. She earned two undergraduate degrees, summa cum laude, in communications and print media, from what is now Truman State University and her law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After serving a year as a law clerk for Judge George Gunn at the Supreme Court of Missouri, Russell entered the private practice of law in Hannibal, ultimately becoming one of the first female partners at a law firm in northeast Missouri. She was appointed in 1995 to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and served as that court’s chief judge from July 1999 through June 2000. In September 2004, Russell became just the third woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri. Voters retained her in office at the 2006 and 2018 general elections. She previously served a term as chief justice a decade ago, from July 2013 through June 2015.

Russell devotes much of her free time to mentoring young people, speaking to community groups and students helping demystify the court system, and promoting the fair administration of justice. Her community service and leadership in the legal field has led to number of local, state and national awards. She is active in numerous community organizations, including PEO (past president), Rotary Club (past president) and her church. She also is active in many professional and legal organizations, both in the state and nationally. Russell is a second vice president of the national Conference of Chief Justices, a trustee of the State Historical Society of Missouri, and was a member of the Missouri Bicentennial Commission, which organized events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s statehood. She also is a past president of Missouri’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and past president of the Truman State University board of governors. Russell has served for many years as liaison to the Court’s civic education committee and currently is involved in efforts to create a Judicial Discovery Center at the Court.

She was married to the late James Russell, is an avid Cardinals baseball and Mizzou fan, and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

Contact: Beth S. Riggert

Communications Counsel

Supreme Court of Missouri

(573) 751-3676