18 December 2003

ST. LOUIS – The Twenty-Second Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Holden to fill the associate circuit judge vacancy in St. Louis created by the retirement of Judge Thad F. Niemira.

Those nominated by the commission are Paula P. Bryant, Patrick J. Connaghan and Michael F. Stelzer.

Bryant received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1981 and her law degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 1983. She has served as an assistant public defender, a staff attorney for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit, and currently she is a prosecutor in the circuit attorney’s office, where she is a felony team leader.  

Connaghan was born in 1952 in St. Louis. He obtained his bachelor of arts from Cardinal Glennon College in 1975 and his law degree-cum laude from St. Louis University School of Law in 1983. He has been in private practice in addition to serving as an assistant city counselor, the director of operation weed and seed, operation safestreet and neighborhood stabilization team for the city of St. Louis, and presently as legal counsel for the St. Louis city board of aldermen.  

Stelzer was born in 1964 in St. Louis. He received his bachelor of arts in 1986 from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. He received his law degree–cum laude in 1992 from the St. Louis University School of Law. He has served as comptroller of the currency and has worked for the Missouri Court of Appeals, George F. Kosta & Associates, and is presently an associate city counselor.

The commission believes that these candidates chosen from a field of extremely qualified individuals possess those qualities of compassion, intellect and high moral purpose essential to the fair and efficient administration of justice. Each of these people has that trial experience and sense of fairness that the commission knows is required to administer justice to the people of the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri and proudly presents these names to Governor Holden for his ultimate decision. The commission is confident that all of these individuals are capable of serving well and honorably if selected by the governor.

The members of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Commission are: Chief Judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Sherri B. Sullivan, Laura T. Cohen, Nancy Kistler, Christopher McGraugh and Eva Louise Frazer, M.D.

Contact: Laura Roy, clerk

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District

(314) 539-4300