19 September 2023
ST. LOUIS – Judge Thomas C. Clark II has been elected chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, by unanimous vote of the judges of the court. His term begins September 25, 2023. The Court held a special election after Gov. Michael Parson selected Kelly C. Broniec, the current chief judge of the Eastern District, as the next judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. The chief judge is the chief administrative officer of the court, presides at court en banc meetings and represents the court to the public.
Gov. Parson appointed Judge Clark to the Eastern District in February 2021. He received his undergraduate degrees in journalism and history from the University of Kansas. He then earned a master’s degree in public administration and a law degree from St. Louis University. In 2019, he obtained a master’s degree in judicial studies from the University of Nevada, Reno. After graduating from law school, he was an assistant circuit attorney in St. Louis. Gov. Matt Blunt appointed him as an associate circuit judge for the City of St. Louis in 2006, and Gov. Eric Greitens elevated him to the circuit bench in 2017, where he served until his appointment to the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District. In November 2022 he was retained in office for a twelve-year term that expires December 31, 2034.
Judge Clark has been very active with legal and civic organizations. He is a member of The Missouri Bar and has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri’s commission on domestic violence and human trafficking. He is active in Boy Scouts of America, his church, the Knights of Columbus and the Zeta Phi Scholarship Foundation.
“I am honored to serve the public, the members of the bar and my judicial colleagues as the next chief judge,” Judge Clark said. “I will work hard to emulate the high personal and professional standards of my predecessors.”
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, hears appeals from the trial courts in 25 counties in eastern Missouri and the City of St. Louis. It is the largest court in the state appellate system. The Court is located in the historic Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis but regularly holds sessions at various locations throughout the district.
For more information contact
Laura Thielmeier Roy
314-539-4300