UPDATE: Richard Hicks gets judge recommendation from Boone Co. GOP
UPDATE: The Boone County Republican Central Committee will recommend attorney Richard Hicks for the soon-vacant 13th Circuit judge position.
It took the committee three times to get a majority vote between the four candidates seeking the recommendation to Governor Eric Greitens. Party chairman Mike Zweifel told ABC 17 News that the committee would eliminate the candidate with the lowest amount of votes at the end of each round.
Hicks beat out Connie Sullivan, Michael Whitworth and Darryl Smith for the recommendation. Hicks is a former First Assistant prosecutor in Boone County and municipal judge in Hallsville.
Hicks said he would be a conservative judge that would not try to “re-invent” the law. He said he would be “tough on crime” with his sentencing, and stressed how important the job was in its impact to people’s lives.
“It’s done day after day in the courtroom, and the one place that it happens most is in the criminal arena,” Hicks said.
Zweifel said the committee had four outstanding candidates to consider. He said Hicks’ resume was the strongest, citing his long experience practicing law in mid-Missouri.
ORIGINAL: The Boone County Republican Central Committee will discuss its recommendation to the governor for a new circuit judge.
Judge Christine Carpenter will retire on Aug. 31. Carpenter served 18 years on the 13th Circuit’s bench, with two of those years as Presiding Judge of the circuit.
The central committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the HyVee on Conley Road to discuss the options. A subcommittee of the party vetted several candidates, leaving four people for the full committee’s consideration.
Gov. Eric Greitens will appoint the next judge for Division 1, which is an elected position. Voters will decide on a judge for that division in 2018.
A person must be licensed to practice law in Missouri and be at least 30 years old, according to the Missouri Constitution. The person must also be a resident of the circuit, in this case Boone and Callaway counties, a voter in Missouri for at least three years and a citizen of the U.S. for the last 10 years.
