ST. LOUIS – More than 70 nonpartisan judges are on Missouri ballots for the Nov. 5, 2024 general election. At least two of them will be on every ballot statewide.
The Missouri Bar serves tens of thousands of the state’s practicing attorneys. Their non-partisan independent committee is called “The Missouri Judicial Performance Review.” It was created in 1944 by order of the Missouri Supreme Court.
For decades, the committee has reviewed the performance of nonpartisan judges up for retention. If a judge has recently finished serving on the bench for at least a year or nears the end of a term, he or she is up for retention in the next closest general election so long as the committee gives a recommendation.
The committee considers a variety of information about each judge, including lawyers’ ratings of judges, jurors’ ratings of some trial judges, and written opinions from judges. A recommendation from the committee determines that the judge substantially meets the overall judicial performance standard and will appear on the next general election ballot.
Once up for retention, a simple majority of “yes” votes, at least more than 50% of voters, allows the judge in office for a full term. Unlike judges in the federal system, judges in Missouri do not serve for life, but rather designated terms.
Voters might not know all the names of the names of the judges or know much about their decisions. There are resources to help you make an informed decision, many available through YourMissouriJudges.org.
Judges up for retention in next month’s election include those representing the Supreme Court of Missouri, five circuit courts and three courts of appeals districts.
Supreme Court of Missouri
Broniec and Gooch will appear on every statewide ballot.
Missouri Court of Appeals
Some of these names could appear on your ballots, depending on the district of your polling place in Missouri.
St. Louis City Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
St. Louis County Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
Clay County Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
Greene County Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
Jackson County Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
Platte County Judges
CIRCUIT JUDGES
ASSOCIATE CIRCUIT JUDGES
For all judges on the November ballot, the Missouri Judicial Performance Review finds each one substantially meets overall judicial performance standards.
