Judicial Finance Commission

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Judicial Finance Commission
207 West High Street
P.O. Box 150
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
(573) 751-4144 (phone)
(573) 751-7514 (fax)
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Judicial Finance Commission was established to resolve budget disputes between counties and their respective circuit courts. The commission is empowered with numerous duties: to review petitions from the counties, schedule informal conferences in the geographical area in which the dispute arose in an effort to expeditiously settle disputes, hold hearings so that all parties have the opportunity to present their positions for the record, and issue opinions on the reasonableness of the disputed budget request. 

Members of the Judicial Finance Commission:

  • Chair – Judge Robert M. Clayton III, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
  • Vice Chair – Charles Herbst, associate commissioner, Cape Girardeau County 
  • Stephanie Gooden, associate commissioner, Saline County
  • Judge Michael W. Noble, circuit judge, 22nd Judicial Circuit (St. Louis)
  • Judge Jennifer M. Phillips, circuit judge, 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County)  
  • Janet M. Thompson, associate commissioner, Boone County 
  • Judge Terry A. Tschannen, presiding judge, 9th Judicial Circuit (Chariton, Linn and Sullivan counties)
(Membership list last updated November 2024)

Relevant Statutes:

  • Section 50.640, RSMo – Estimate of circuit court or circuit clerk, changed, how – disagreement with county, escrow account equal to difference established – resolved, how
  • Section 477.600, RSMo – Judicial Finance Commission members, terms, vacancies, compensation – powers, duties, staff

Rules of Practice:

Judicial Finance Commission Forms:

Judicial Finance Commission Opinions:

For opinions of the commission since its inception in 1982, along with summaries of these opinions and reviews of commission opinions by the Supreme Court of Missouri, please visit Judicial Finance Commission decisions.

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