20 April 2023

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Sixteenth Circuit Judicial Commission is accepting applications for the position of circuit judge, Division 16 of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit (Jackson County), beginning April 20, 2023. This position is being created by the retirement of Judge Marco A. Roldan, effective August 4, 2023. Roldan has served as a circuit judge in Division 16 of the Jackson County circuit court since September 1999. 

Article V, section 21 of the Missouri Constitution requires that a circuit judge be at least 30 years old, licensed to practice law in Missouri, a citizen of the United States for at least 10 years, a qualified voter in Missouri for the three years preceding selection, and a resident of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit for at least one year.  

Citizens are encouraged to nominate well-qualified candidates for the commission’s consideration. Nominations should be submitted to the contact person listed below.

Public nomination form:  Microsoft Word  |  PDF

For those interested in applying, the application and instructions are available here:

Application:  Microsoft Word  |  PDF

Instructions:  Microsoft Word  |  PDF

Guidelines for references:  Microsoft Word  |  PDF

The commission must receive all completed applications for this vacancy by 4 p.m. Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Those who recently applied for the circuit judge vacancy in Division 10 will not need to complete a new application for this vacancy but will need to notify the commission in writing of their interest in being considered for the Division 16 vacancy. Due to slight differences between the application for a circuit judge vacancy and an associate circuit judge vacancy, those who recently applied for the associate judge vacancy in Division 30, but did not apply for the Division 10 circuit judge vacancy, will need to submit a new application if they wish to be considered for the Division 16 vacancy.  

The commission plans to meet Tuesday, August 22, 2023, and, if necessary, Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, 1300 Oak Street, in Kansas City to conduct public interviews of the applicants and to select a panel of three nominees for the vacancy. Further details regarding the interviews, including the manner in which applicants and the public will participate, will be announced at a later date. Upon receipt of the nominations, the governor of the state of Missouri will have 60 days to appoint one of the three nominees as circuit judge in Division 16 of the Jackson County circuit court.  

Members of the commission are Gary Witt, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District; attorneys Jill Kanatzar and Phyllis Norman; and lay members Terry Anderson and Matt Haase.

Note: Links to application materials typically are disabled after the application deadline closes.

Contact: Kimberly K. Boeding, clerk of the court 

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District

(816) 889-3600