Tuesday, May 16, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573)751-0290
Blunt Appoints St. Louis County Judge to Eastern District State Court of Appeals Post
JEFFERSON CITY—Gov. Matt Blunt today appointed St. Louis County Circuit Judge Kenneth Mitchell Romines to serve as a judge on the 14-member Missouri Court of Appeals-Eastern District.
Romines, 62, was appointed circuit judge for St. Louis County in 1986 and has served as both the assistant presiding judge and as the presiding judge. Before being appointed to the bench, Romines worked in private legal practice at the law firm Curtis and Crossen in St. Louis and at his own private firm in Sedalia.
"Kenneth Romines brings the right balance of urban and rural experience to a post that exposes judges to unique cases from throughout our diverse state," Blunt said. "His work in private practice and in the Missouri Attorney General’s office also gives him good insight into the differing facets of the law.
"I commend the Appellate Judicial Commission for sending three outstanding jurists for my consideration and look forward to working with them in the future to strengthen the judicial process in our state."
Romines is a graduate of William Jewell College in Liberty and earned his law degree at the University of Mississippi. Upon graduation from law school, Romines served as a law clerk to Justice Robert Jones of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Romines worked as an assistant attorney general under former Missouri Attorney General John C. Danforth where he handled cases dealing with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the Missouri Department of Corrections, the Missouri Highway Reciprocity Commission and the Board of Architects and Engineers among other duties.
The Appellate Judicial Commission accepts applications and selects three candidates to fill judicial vacancies on the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Court of Appeals without regard to political affiliation. The governor can only appoint one of the three candidates submitted to him by the commission.
Judge Roy L. Richter of Montgomery County and Thomas B. Weaver a partner at the law firm of Armstrong and Teasdale in St. Louis were the other two candidates recommended by the commission.
The seven-member Appellate Judicial Commission is made up of Supreme Court Presiding Justice Ronnie White and two resident citizens from each of the three court of appeals districts.
The Eastern District covers 25 counties and the City of St. Louis.