4 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 vacancies created by the appointment of Judge Becky Borthwick to the Missouri Court of Appeals and the upcoming retirements of Judge Jason Brown and Judge Michael Cordonnier. As previously explained, applications of individuals who applied for the recent Mountjoy circuit judge vacancy in the 31st circuit will be considered for the Borthwick, Brown and Cordonnier vacancies, and those individuals will not be re-interviewed.

For those who did not apply for the Mountjoy vacancy, new applications will be accepted until noon Friday, November 18, 2022. Interested persons may download the application materials and instructions below.

The commission will select and notify applicants to be interviewed. The commission plans to meet November 22, 2022, to interview any new applicants for the Borthwick vacancy. 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. The commission plans to announce a future date on which it will meet to select a panel of three nominees for the governor’s consideration.

After the governor makes his appointment to fill the Borthwick vacancy, the commission expects to reopen the application process briefly for any additional individuals who wish to be considered for the Brown vacancy, the Cordonnier vacancy and any additional circuit judge vacancies that are 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 or Borthwick vacancies. The commission then will meet to select – from the Mountjoy, Borthwick, and Brown applicant pools – the three nominees for the Brown vacancy. The commission expects to announce the specific timeline for the reopened Brown vacancy in due course after the Governor has made his selection for the Borthwick vacancy. This process will be repeated for the Cordonnier vacancy and any additional vacancies that may be announced before January 31, 2023, with all applications received and interviews conducted for the Mountjoy, Borthwick, Brown and subsequent circuit judge vacancies remaining in active consideration unless any such application is withdrawn.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 that 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.

Contact: Craig Street, clerk of the court

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District

 (417)-895-6811