21 October 2025
ST. LOUIS – The Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Michael Kehoe to fill the circuit judge vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Thomas C. Albus as United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri. Those nominated by the commission are:
Chastidy Dillon-Amelung – Dillon-Amelung earned her bachelor of arts in philosophy, law and rhetoric in 1997 from Stephens College and obtained her law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 2002. She is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
Bridget L. Halquist – Halquist earned her bachelor of arts in 1992 from Wilmington College and obtained her law degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 1999. She is an attorney/managing member at Summers Compton Wells LLC.
Nicolette Antonia Klapp – Klapp earned her bachelor of science in biological sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005 and obtained her law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2009. She is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
The commission interviewed all 17 applicants during one day of public interviews on October 21, 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: Dillon-Amelung received three votes, Halquist received five votes, and Klapp received five votes.
The members of the Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission are: Judge John P. Torbitzky, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and commission chair; Chris Baechle; Matt Reh, secretary of the commission; Michelle Spirn; and Kelly Wittenbrink.
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Contact: Morgan Coleman, clerk of the court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
(314) 539-4300