29 November 2022
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The 31st Circuit Judicial Commission is accepting applications for circuit judge of the 31st Judicial Circuit (Greene County) to fill the impending vacancies that will be created by the upcoming retirements of Judge Jason Brown and Judge Michael Cordonnier. As previously explained, applications of individuals who applied for the recent Mountjoy and Borthwick vacancies on the 31st circuit court will be considered for the Brown and Cordonnier vacancies, and those individuals will not be re-interviewed.
Citizens are encouraged to nominate well-qualified candidates for the commission’s consideration. The Missouri Constitution requires that a circuit judge be a citizen of the United States for at least 10 years, be a qualified Missouri voter for at least three years next preceding selection, be not less than 30 years of age, be licensed to practice law in Missouri, and be a resident of the 31st circuit for at least one year. Nominations should be submitted to the commission by e-mail at 31stJudComm-CircuitVacancies@courts.mo.gov.
Public nomination form: in Word in PDF
For those who did not apply for the Mountjoy or Borthwick vacancies, new applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Monday, December 12, 2022. Interested persons may download the application materials and instructions below.
Application form: in Word in PDF
Authorization: in Word in PDF
Instructions: in Word in PDF
Guidelines for references: in Word in PDF
The commission will select and notify applicants to be interviewed. The commission plans to meet December 19, 2022, to interview new applicants and select a panel of three nominees for the Brown vacancy for the governor’s consideration. The interviews will be open to the public. The names of those to be interviewed and information relating to the number and characteristics of all applicants will be released publicly prior to the interviews
After the governor makes his appointment to fill the Brown vacancy, the commission expects to reopen the application process briefly for any additional individuals who wish to be considered for the Cordonnier vacancy and any additional circuit judge vacancies announced before January 31, 2023. The commission anticipates it will interview only new applicants; it does not plan to re-interview those who interviewed for the Mountjoy, Borthwick or Brown vacancies. The commission then will meet to select – from the Mountjoy, Borthwick, Brown and Cordonnier applicant pools – the three nominees for the Cordonnier vacancy. The commission expects to announce the specific timeline for the reopened Cordonnier vacancy in due course after the governor has made his selection for the Brown vacancy. This process will be repeated for any additional vacancies that may be announced before January 31, 2023, with all applications received and interviews conducted for the Mountjoy, Borthwick, Brown, Cordonnier, and subsequent circuit judge vacancies remaining in active consideration unless any such application is withdrawn. To the extent possible, the commission plans to address vacancies in the order the vacancies will occur.
Current members of the commission are Jack A. L. Goodman, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District; attorneys Deborah K. Dodge and Kurt J. Larson; and lay members Kim Hancock and Dr. Fred G. McQueary.
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Note: Links to application materials typically are disabled after the application deadline closes.
Contact: Craig Street, clerk of the court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District
(417) 895-6811