Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission

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Methods of judicial selection
Partisan elections
Nonpartisan elections
Michigan method
Retention elections
Assisted appointment
Bar-controlled commission
Governor-controlled commission
Hybrid commission
Legislative elections
Gubernatorial appointment

The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission is the state agency in Missouri that assists with filling judicial vacancies in the state. The commission has six members selected by the state bar association and the governor, and a chairperson who is the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Missouri uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection for its state courts. Using this method, the commission accepts applications for vacancies, interviews the applicants, evaluates their credentials, and then recommends three applicants to the governor for potential appointment to the bench. The governor then has 60 days to make his selection; if he does not appoint someone within that time frame, the commission has authority to make the appointment. This selection method is used for the Missouri Supreme Court, Missouri district courts, and several other types of courts in the state.

The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission is a hybrid commission, which means that there is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar association. As of September 18, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.

Members

Last updated: April 2025
The commission has seven members, including a chairperson who is the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. The chair serves a term of two years. All other members serve six-year terms that are staggered.

The members are chosen by the state bar association and the governor. The bar association is allowed to elect three lawyers licensed to practice in Missouri. The governor selects three non-lawyers. Missouri is split into three geographic regions for the Court of Appeals' purposes. In terms of the commission, each of those geographic divisions must have one attorney and one non-attorney sitting on the commission.

Members of the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission, April 2025
Name	Appointed by	Term-end date
Chair - Mary R. Russell	N/A	June 30, 2025
Jennifer Hardester	Missouri Bar Association	December 31, 2029
Neil Chanter	Missouri Bar Association	December 31, 2025
Kirk R. Presley	Missouri Bar Association	December 31, 2027
Timothy M. Drury	Governor Mike Parson	December 31, 2024
Sally Hargis	Governor Mike Parson	December 31, 2026
Connie Cierpiot	Governor Mike Parson	December 31, 2028

Process

The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission accepts applications for vacancies, interviews the applicants, evaluates their credentials, and then recommends three applicants to the governor for potential appointment to the bench. The governor then has 60 days to make his selection; if he does not appoint someone within that time frame, the commission has authority to make the appointment.

After appointed judges have been in office for one year, they must stand in a retention election, and a majority must be in favor of retaining the judge. When the judge's term expires, he or she must pass a retention election with a majority vote in favor of retaining them on the bench.

Duties

According to its website, the duties of the commission include reviewing applications to fill judicial vacancies on the Missouri Supreme Court and Missouri district courts, interviewing applicants, and submitting judicial candidates to the governor. Additionally, the commission is tasked with publicizing information about judicial vacancies and holding public meetings during the nomination process.

Control of judicial selection commissions

Assisted appointment is a method of judicial selection in which a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.

At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types, based on the makeup of the judicial nominating commissions. Those types are:

• Governor-controlled commission - The governor is either responsible for appointing a majority of the members of the nominating commission or may decline to appoint a candidate from a list provided by the nominating commission.
• Bar-controlled commission - Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the members of the nominating commission.
• Hybrid - There is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar Association. The membership of these commissions is determined by different rules in each state.

Twenty-three courts in 22 states used assisted appointment to select state supreme court justices as of June 2021. Missouri used a hybrid commission. The table below shows the number of courts using each variation of assisted appointment at the state supreme court level.

Assisted appointment methods in state supreme courts
Method	Courts (of 23)
Governor-controlled majority	10
Bar-controlled majority	1
Hybrid	12

The map below highlights the states that use each of the three types of assisted appointment.

About judicial selection

Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:

Election

• Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
• Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
• Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
• Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.

Assisted appointment

• Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
  • Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
  • Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
  • Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.

Direct appointment

• Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
• Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
• Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
• Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.

Click a state on the map below to explore judicial selection processes in that state.

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http://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_STATE

See also

State courts	Appointment methods	Election methods
State supreme courts Intermediate appellate courts Trial courts	Assisted appointment Court appointment Gubernatorial appointment Legislative election Municipal government selection	Partisan election Nonpartisan election Michigan method

External links

• Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission website

Footnotes

Missouri courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri

State courts:

Missouri Supreme Court • Missouri Court of Appeals • Missouri Circuit Courts • Missouri Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Missouri • Missouri judicial elections • Judicial selection in Missouri