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Missouri Supreme Court

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Missouri Supreme Court
State-Supreme-Courts-Ballotpedia-template.png
Court Information
Justices: 7
Founded: 1820
Location: Jefferson
Salary
Associates: $205,965[1]
Judicial Selection
Method: *Assisted appointment (Hybrid)
Term: 12 years
Active justices
Kelly C. Broniec, Zel Fischer, Ginger Gooch, Wesley Brent Powell, Robin Ransom, Mary Rhodes Russell, Paul C. Wilson


Founded in 1820, the Missouri Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Wesley Brent Powell.[2]

As of November 2023, two judges on the court were appointed by a Democratic governor and five judges were appointed by a Republican governor.

The court meets in the Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City, Missouri.[3]

In Missouri, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.


Jurisdiction

The Missouri Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals concerning the validity of federal statutes or treaties, the validity of state statutes or constitutional provisions, state revenue laws, challenges to a statewide elected official's right to hold office and when the death penalty has been imposed. At its own discretion, the court may hear appeals if a question of general interest or importance is involved, if the law should be re-examined or if the lower court's decision conflicts with an earlier appellate decision.[2]

The court has exclusive jurisdiction over state house and senate redistricting appeals. The court is also tasked with the duty of trying impeachment cases and hearing election contests of executive officers.[4]

The court supervises all lower state courts with the assistance of the Office of the State Courts Administrator. The court provides rules for practice, and procedures for uniform handling of cases in the state. The supreme court licenses all attorneys who wish to practice in the state and disciplines lawyers and judges for ethics violations.[5]

Missouri Supreme Court building

Judges

The table below lists the current judges of the Missouri Supreme Court, their political party, when they assumed office, and their appointing governor (if applicable).


Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Missouri

The seven justices of the Missouri Supreme Court are chosen through assisted appointment in which the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission. When a vacancy occurs, a list of potential candidates is compiled by the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission and narrowed to three choices. From those three candidates, the governor appoints a new judge. After the newly appointed judge serves for at least one year, they must stand for retention in the next general election. If retained, they serve twelve-year terms.[6]

Qualifications

To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:

  • a U.S. citizen for at least 15 years;
  • a qualified state voter for at least nine years;
  • licensed to practice law in the state;
  • over the age of 30; and
  • under the age of 70 (retirement at 70 is mandatory).[6]

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court serves a two-year term and is elected by a peer vote.[6]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

When a vacancy occurs, a list of potential candidates is compiled by the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission and narrowed to three choices. From those three candidates, the governor appoints a new judge. After the newly appointed judge serves for at least one year, they must stand for retention in the next general election. If retained, they serve twelve-year terms.[6]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


Elections

See also: Missouri Supreme Court elections

2024

See also: Missouri Supreme Court elections, 2024

The term of one Missouri Supreme Court justice expired on December 31, 2024. The one seat was up for retention election on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was August 27, 2024.

Candidates and results

Broniec's seat

Missouri Supreme Court, Kelly Broniec's seat

Kelly C. Broniec was retained to the Missouri Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 63.1% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
63.1
 
 1,634,157
No
 
36.9
 
 954,663
Total Votes
 2,588,820

It has been certified. Source

Gooch's seat

Missouri Supreme Court, Ginger Gooch's seat

Ginger Gooch was retained to the Missouri Supreme Court on November 5, 2024 with 62.2% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
62.2
 
 1,606,477
No
 
37.8
 
 974,374
Total Votes
 2,580,851

It has been certified. Source


2022

See also: Missouri Supreme Court elections, 2022

The terms of two Missouri Supreme Court justices expired on December 31, 2022. The two seats were up for retention election on November 8, 2022.

Candidates and results

Ransom's seat

Missouri Supreme Court, Robin Ransom's seat

Robin Ransom was retained to the Missouri Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 70.3% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
70.3
 
 1,239,950
No
 
29.7
 
 525,084
Total Votes
 1,765,034

It has been certified. Source

Fischer's seat

Missouri Supreme Court, Zel Fischer's seat

Zel Fischer was retained to the Missouri Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 68.0% of the vote.

Retention
 Vote
%
Votes
✔
Yes
 
68.0
 
 1,211,424
No
 
32.0
 
 569,032
Total Votes
 1,780,456

It has been certified. Source


2020

See also: Missouri Supreme Court elections, 2020

The term of one Missouri Supreme Court justice expired on December 31, 2020. The one seat was up for retention election on November 3, 2020.

Candidates and results

Breckenridge's seat

General election candidates


2018

Candidates and results

Russell's seat

General election candidates

Powell's seat

General election candidates

2016

Justices who faced retention

■ Richard Teitelman Green check mark transparent.png

Election results

Richard Teitelman was retained in the Missouri Supreme Court, Teitelman's Seat election with 63.91% of the vote.

Missouri Supreme Court, Teitelman's Seat, 2016
Name Yes votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Teitelman63.91%
Source: Missouri Secretary of State Official Results

Appointments

2023

Justice Breckenridge vacancy

See also: Missouri Supreme Court justice vacancy (October 2023)

Missouri governor Mike Parson appointed Ginger Gooch to the Missouri Supreme Court on October 30, 2023. She was sworn in two days later, on November 1, 2023.

Gooch replaced Justice Patricia Breckenridge, who retired on October 13, 2023, after reaching the state's mandatory retirement age of 70. Breckenridge's replacement was Governor Mike Parson's (R) third nominee to the seven-member supreme court.[7][8]

At the time of the vacancy, Missouri law required the governor to appoint a new judge from a list of candidates compiled by the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission. Newly appointed judges were required to stand for retention in the next general election occurring one to three years after taking office.

Justice Draper vacancy

See also: Missouri Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2023)

Missouri governor Mike Parson (R) appointed Kelly Broniec to the Missouri Supreme Court. Broniec replaced Justice George Draper who retired on August 4, 2023, due to reaching the state's mandatory retirement age of 70. Draper's replacement was Governor Mike Parson's (R) second nominee to the seven-member supreme court.[9][10]

At the time of the vacancy, Missouri law required the governor to appoint a new judge from a list of candidates compiled by the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission. Newly appointed judges were required to stand for retention in the next general election occurring one to three years after taking office.

2021

See also: Missouri Supreme Court justice vacancy (March 2021)

Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) appointed Robin Ransom to the Missouri Supreme Court on May 24, 2021. Ransom succeeded Laura Denvir Stith, who retired on March 8, 2021.[11] Ransom was Gov. Parson's first nominee to the seven-member supreme court.[12][13]

Under Missouri law at the time of the vacancy, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission would select supreme court judges according to the Missouri Plan. When a seat on the court became vacant, the commission would submit three names to the governor to determine the replacement. If the governor neglected this duty, the responsibility would go to the commission.[14][15]

2017

Teitelman vacancy, 2017

The death of former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard Teitelman on November 29, 2016, created a vacancy on the state's highest court. On March 1, 2017, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission nominated Missouri Court of Appeals Judge Lisa White Hardwick, attorney Benjamin Lipman, and Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Wesley Brent Powell as candidates to fill the vacancy. According to the St. Louis Record, Hardwick and Lipman were liberal candidates while Powell was more conservative.[16]

Missouri political strategist James Harris, who supported an unsuccessful 2012 ballot measure aimed at increasing the number of gubernatorial appointments to the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission, expressed concern during an interview with the Record regarding what he perceived to be the limited scope of the governor's role in the judicial appointment process.[16]

According to Harris, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission's role in the nomination process prevented Republican Governor Eric Greitens from appointing a conservative judge to the court. Harris argued that the citizen members of the commission were Democratic-leaning appointees of former Governor Jay Nixon (D). Therefore, Harris claimed that the citizen appointees, together with the commission members selected by the Missouri State Bar, nominated liberal judicial candidates to fill the vacancy. He observed that only three of the last 30 nominees to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court were Republicans. Since Missouri was governed by a Republican trifecta, Harris concluded that the commission's nominees were out-of-step with the views of Missouri voters.[16]

Dana Tippin Cutler, president of the Missouri State Bar, disagreed with Harris' assessment. "The Appellate Judicial Commission did its job in forwarding three qualified applicants to the governor for consideration," she told the Record. "It is now the governor’s turn to assess these applicants and decide who should serve the people of Missouri as our newest Supreme Court judge."[16]

Cutler also argued that Missouri voters had historically supported the state's existing assisted appointment process and that the system can be modified as needed. "Over the 76-year history of the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, changes have been implemented to improve the process. We would consider additional changes on a case-by-case basis to make sure the people of Missouri continue to have skilled, fair and impartial judges and to prevent partisan politics and money from being injected into our state’s courts.”[16]

Greitens appointed Powell to the court.

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.[17]

Missouri Supreme Court caseload data
Year Filings Dispositions
2023[18] 28 36
2022[19] 37 53
2021 43 43
2020 48 53
2019 53 50
2018 55 66
2017 74 57
2016 54 70
2015 75 64
2014 65 81
2013 82 89
2012 96 77
2011 73 62
2010 67 65
2009 63 80
2008 72 57
2007 86 90

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Ballotpedia Courts Determiners and Dissenters navigation ad.png In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

  • We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
  • We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
  • We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
  • We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

  • Number of justices: 7
  • Number of cases: 58
  • Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 62.1%% (36)
  • Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Russell (10)
  • Per curiam decisions: 7
  • Concurring opinions: 4
  • Justice with most concurring opinions: Justices Breckenridge, Fischer, Powell, and Wilson (1)
  • Dissenting opinions: 20
  • Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Powell (8)

For the study's full set of findings in Missouri, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Ballotpedia Courts State Partisanship navigation ad.png Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[20]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.[21]

Missouri had a Court Balance Score of 1.14, indicating Split control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

SSC by state.png


Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Missouri was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Missouri received a score of 0.001. Based on the justices selected, Missouri was the 25th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[22]

Noteworthy cases

For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

Ethics

The Missouri Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Missouri. It is composed of four canons:

  • Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold and Promote the Independence, Integrity, and Impartiality of the Judiciary, and Shall Avoid Impropriety or the Appearance of Impropriety"
  • Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially, Competently, and Diligently"
  • Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Conduct the Judge's Personal and Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict with the Obligations of Judicial Office"
  • Canon 4: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Not Engage in Political or Campaign Activity that is Inconsistent with the Independence, Integrity, or Impartiality of the Judiciary"[23]

The full text of the Missouri Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of supreme court judges

The Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline has jurisdiction over supreme court judges and is responsible for investigating complaints concerning their judicial behavior. Supreme court judges may be removed by impeachment. Impeachment trials for supreme court judges are handled by a special commission.[24][25] Removing a judge by impeachment requires a five-sevenths vote of the Missouri House of Representatives, and then a five-sevenths vote of the commission following a trial.[26]

History of the court

Missouri was a part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, making it a part of the United States after a period of both French and Spanish rule. The state was organized into its own territory in 1812. The highest court in the territorial system was called a superior court and had three judges, appointed by the U.S. president, with original and appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. The original system was modeled on French and Spanish civil law, but the territorial legislature adopted English common law in January 1816.[27]

Missouri's first supreme court was created in 1820 with the adoption of the state's first constitution, just before achieving statehood in 1821. The court had appellate jurisdiction and a supervisory role over all lower courts in the state. The state was divided into up to four judicial districts and had three judges appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate for lifetime terms. They were required to be 30 to 65 years of age. Circuit courts, a chancellor, chancery courts, and inferior courts and tribunals were also provided.[28]

In 1872, the court expanded to five judges and in 1890 it expanded to seven judges, where it remains today. The 1875 constitution provided the court a permanent seat in Jefferson City. The constitution did not however provide for a unified court system; courts often operated in isolation, lacking unity and flexibility. Judges were nominated in political party primaries and ran as party candidates.[29] Today Missouri operates under the 1945 Missouri Constitution in a unified court system with the supreme court in charge of coordinating and administering all court efforts, as well as establishing rules of practice for civil and criminal courts. In 1940 the state adopted a nonpartisan court plan, and this continued in the 1945 constitution, providing for assisted appointment of state court judges. Judges hold 12-year terms and are required to have practiced as lawyers.[30]

Former judges

Courts in Missouri

See also: Courts in Missouri

In Missouri, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Missouri's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Missouri's state court system.

Party control of Missouri state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Missouri has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.


See also

Missouri Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Missouri
Missouri Court of Appeals
Missouri Supreme Court
Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Missouri
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Your Missouri Courts, "Supreme Court," accessed January 29, 2015 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ Missouri Courts, Visiting the Supreme Court," accessed September 8, 2021
  4. ↑ Intramural Law Review of St. Louis University,"The Missouri Judicial Department Under the 1945 Constitution," accessed June 20, 2024
  5. ↑ Missouri Courts Judicial Branch of Government,"Supreme Court of Missouri," accessed June 20, 2024
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 7, 2021
  7. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Two Missouri Supreme Court judges to retire," February 8, 2023
  8. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Parson set to make second appointment to Missouri Supreme Court," June 20, 2023
  9. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Two Missouri Supreme Court judges to retire," February 8, 2023
  10. ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Parson set to make second appointment to Missouri Supreme Court," June 20, 2023
  11. ↑ KBIA, "Missouri's Second Female Supreme Court Judge Is Retiring," February 3, 2021
  12. ↑ ABC News, "Governor appoints 1st Black woman to Missouri Supreme Court," May 24, 2021
  13. ↑ CBS 13 KRCTV, "Gov. Parson appoints first Black woman, Judge Robin Ransom to Missouri Supreme Court," May 24, 2021
  14. ↑ Your Missouri Courts, "Supreme Court Judges," accessed January 29, 2015
  15. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Missouri," accessed January 29, 2015
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 St. Louis Record, "Missouri judicial selection process comes under fire," April 12, 2017
  17. ↑ Missouri Courts, "Annual Judicial and Statistical Reports," accessed October 5, 2022
  18. ↑ Missouri Courts, "Table 2 - Supreme Court, FY 2023 - Appeals Filed and Disposed," accessed September 27, 2024
  19. ↑ Missouri Courts, "Table 2 - Supreme Court, FY 2022 - Appeals Filed and Disposed," accessed September 27, 2024
  20. ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
  21. ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
  22. ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
  23. ↑ Your Missouri Courts, Rule 2 -- Code of Judicial Conduct, accessed August 18, 2025
  24. ↑ Missouri Courts, "Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline," accessed August 18, 2025
  25. ↑ JUSTIA US Law, "Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions," accessed August 18, 2025
  26. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Selection: Removal of Judges - Missouri," accessed October 19, 2015
  27. ↑ Missouri Judicial Branch of Government,"1812: Missouri organizes as a territory," accessed June 20, 2024
  28. ↑ Missouri Secretary of State,"Missouri Supreme Court Historical Database," accessed June 20, 2024
  29. ↑ Intramural Law Review of St. Louis University,"The Missouri Judicial Department Under the 1945 Constitution," accessed June 20, 2024
  30. ↑ Intramural Law Review of St. Louis University,"The Missouri Judicial Department Under the 1945 Constitution," accessed June 20, 2024
  31. ↑ Your Mississippi Courts, "Former Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri," accessed April 22, 2015

Missouri courts

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


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