1 October 2025
ST. LOUIS – The Twenty-Second Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Michael Kehoe to fill the associate circuit judge vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Barbara T. Peebles. The commission unanimously supports the three nominees. After nearly eight hours of public interviews, approximately two hours of deliberations, and six rounds of balloting, the nominees are:
Tanja Engelhardt – Engelhardt earned her bachelor of arts from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1997 and obtained her law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2000. She is an assistant circuit attorney.
Brooke Hurst – Hurst earned her bachelor of arts and sciences from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2009 and obtained her law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2012. She is an assistant prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County.
Michael Walton – Walton earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1991 and obtained his law degree from Saint Louis University in 1996. He is a family court commissioner.
Brooke Hurst – Hurst earned her bachelor of arts and sciences from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2009 and obtained her law degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law in 2012. She is an assistant prosecuting attorney in St. Louis County.
Michael Walton – Walton earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1991 and obtained his law degree from Saint Louis University in 1996. He is a family court commissioner.
The commission interviewed all 23 applicants during one day of public interviews on October 1, 2025. The commission believes these candidates, 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: Tanja Engelhardt received three votes, Brooke Hurst received five votes, and Michael Walton received five votes.
The members of the Twenty-Second Circuit Judicial Commission are: John P. Torbitzky, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District and chairperson of the commission; Eva Frazer, Patrick Hamacher, John Schicker, and Erica Slater.
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Contact: Morgan Coleman, clerk of court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
(314) 539-4300