Russell E. Steele
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Russell E. Steele is the presiding circuit court judge for the 2nd Circuit Court in Missouri. He was appointed to the bench in December of 1997 and elected in 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2012. His current term will last until 2018.[1][2]
Education
Judge Steele earned his A.B. in economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1974. He earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri Law School in 1977.[3][2]
Career
- 1997-2018: Judge, 2nd Circuit Court
- 1977-1997: Attorney in private practice[2]
Awards and associations
- Missouri Bar
- Adair County Bar Association
- American Bar Association[2]
2012 election
Steele ran unopposed for re-election, receiving 100% of the vote.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title
- See also: Missouri judicial elections, 2012
House Resolution 333 accusations
In January 2012, Missouri Representative Zach Wyatt sponsored House Resolution 333 calling for Judge Steele's impeachment. The House Resolution accused Steele of various breaches of judicial conduct.[4][5] Some of the accusations included perjury, tampering with a witness, favoritism, a romantic relationship with his assistant, having an ex parte communication with another judge, and threatening a potential witness.[6] If the resolution had passed, Steele would have faced impeachment before the Missouri Supreme Court. However, the resolution did not make it out of committee.
Response from Steele
On January 26, 2012, Steele issued a press release challenging the resolution. In it, he said, "...I am shocked and appalled, as the citizens of Northeast Missouri and this state should be, that for one of the only times in 190 years of the history of the Missouri General Assembly, members of the House of Representatives have introduced a resolution to impeach a circuit judge. This is an unprecedented and extraordinary political attack on a member of the judiciary and ignores the well established process that is in place to consider complaints against judges."[7]
To see the full release, read: ConnectTriStates.com, "Mo. Circuit Judge Steele responds to call for his impeachment," January 27, 2012
See also
- Missouri Circuit Courts
- Missouri 2nd Judicial Circuit Court
- Judicial selection in Missouri
- Adair County, Missouri
- Knox County, Missouri
- Lewis County, Missouri
External links
- 2nd Circuit
- Press Release, "Supreme Court recognizes 10 judicial circuits for holding timely child abuse, neglect hearings," 10/01/2007
- News: State Representative looks to impeach Circuit Justice Russell Steele, January 26, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ MO courts website: 2nd Circuit
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Missouri Secretary of State, Office Manual, State of Missouri 2009-2010, pg. 17
- ↑ Martindale, "Judge Profile: Russell E. Steele"
- ↑ Daily Express, "Not satisfied with commission rulings, Wyatt seeks impeachment hearing on Judge Steele," Jan 25, 2012
- ↑ KHQA Newsdesk, "Missouri state rep. wants judge impeached," Jan 24, 2012
- ↑ House Resolution No. 333: Impeachment Articles
- ↑ ConnectTriStates.com, "Mo. Circuit Judge Steele responds to call for his impeachment," January 27, 2012
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
