29 September 2021
ST. LOUIS – The Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Governor Michael L. Parson to fill the circuit judge vacancy in St. Louis County created by the retirement of Judge Michael Burton. Those nominated by the commission are:
Ellen Dunne – Dunne graduated in 1983 from the University of Missouri-Columbia and in 1990 from Saint Louis University School of Law. Dunne is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
John R. Lasater – Lasater graduated in 1988 from the University of Wisconsin and in 1991 from Washington University School of Law. Lasater is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
Virginia Lay – Lay graduated in 1990 from Columbia University and in 1993 from Washington University School of Law. Lay is an associate circuit judge in St. Louis County.
The commission received 19 applications and interviewed all applicants during two days of public interviews on September 27 and 28, 2021. The commission believes these candidates, chosen from a field of extremely qualified individuals, possess those qualities essential to the fair and efficient administration of justice. The commission is confident each of these individuals is capable of serving well and honorably if selected by the governor. Pursuant to Supreme Court of Missouri Rule 10.29, the commission reports the final votes received by each nominee were: Dunne received five votes, Lasater received five votes, and Lay received five votes.
The members of the Twenty-First Circuit Judicial Commission are: Judge Sherri Sullivan, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and commission chair; Tiffany Mapp Franklin, William P. Grant, Al Koller III, and Jeffrey D. Sigmund, secretary.
Contact: Laura Roy, clerk of court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District
(314) 539-4300