Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 478.240 (2026)

Presiding judge, term, selection procedures

✓ current as of May 2026

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478.240. Presiding judge, term, selection procedures — chief justice of supreme court may remove presiding judge, designate acting judge — authority to assign cases, exception — judge hears case not properly assigned, effect. — 1. The presiding judge of each circuit which is provided by Subsection 3 of Section 15 of Article V of the Constitution shall be selected for a two-year term. The circuit and associate circuit judges in each circuit shall select by secret ballot a circuit judge from their number to serve as presiding judge. Selection and removal procedures, not inconsistent with the rules of the supreme court, may be provided by local court rule. If a presiding judge is disqualified from acting as a judicial officer pursuant to the Constitution, Article V, Section 24, the circuit judges and associate circuit judges of the circuit shall select a circuit judge as presiding judge. If the circuit does not have an eligible judge to be elected presiding judge, then the chief justice of the supreme court may designate an acting presiding judge until a successor is chosen or until the disability of the presiding judge terminates.

2. Subject to the authority of the supreme court and the chief justice under Article V of the Constitution, the presiding judge of the circuit shall have general administrative authority over all judicial personnel and court officials in the circuit, including the authority to assign any judicial or court personnel anywhere in the circuit, and shall have the authority to assign judges to hear such cases or classes of cases as the presiding judge may designate, and to assign judges to divisions. Such assignment authority shall include the authority to authorize particular associate circuit judges to hear and determine cases or classes of cases. By this subsection the presiding judge shall not, however, be authorized to make the following assignments:

(1) Assignment of a municipal judge to hear any case other than to initially hear a municipal ordinance violation case of the municipality which makes provision for such municipal judge, except that the presiding judge of a circuit may assign a municipal judge of a municipality within the circuit to hear and determine municipal ordinance violations in a court of another municipality within the circuit if the municipality to which the judge is especially assigned by the presiding judge has made provision for the compensation of such judge;

(2) Assignment of a judge to hear the trial of a felony case when he or she has previously conducted the preliminary hearing in that case, unless the defendant has signed a written waiver permitting the same judge to hear both the preliminary hearing and the trial, or unless the defendant has indicated on the record that the defendant is permitting the same judge to hear both the preliminary hearing and the trial;

(3) Assignment of a case to a judge contrary to provisions of supreme court rules or local circuit court rules; and

(4) Assignment of a case or class of cases not within the class of cases specified in section 472.020 to a circuit judge who is also judge of the probate division and who was on January 1, 1979, a probate judge shall only be with the consent of such judge of the probate division.

3. If any circuit judge or associate circuit judge shall proceed to hear and determine any case or class of cases which has not been assigned to him or her by the presiding judge pursuant to subsection 1 or 2 of this section, or to which he or she had not been transferred by the chief justice of the supreme court, or in the event the purported assignment to him or her shall be determined to be defective or deficient in any manner, any order or judgment he or she may have entered may be set aside, as otherwise provided by rule or by law, and the judge may be subject to discipline under Article V, Section 24 of the Missouri Constitution, but he or she shall not be deemed to have acted other than as a judicial officer because of any such absence, defect or deficiency of assignment under this section, or transfer by the chief justice.

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(L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1987 H.B. 222, A.L. 1989 S.B. 127, et al., A.L. 1993 S.B. 88, A.L. 2014 S.B. 621)

(1987) There is no requirement that an order of assignment made by a presiding judge of a circuit court pursuant to this section be filed in order for the assignment to be effective and default judgement entered before order of assignment was filed is not a reason to set aside such judgement. Jones v. Chrysler Corp., 731 S.W.2d 422 (Mo. App.S.D.).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 39 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1957–2023 · leading case: State v. Nunley, 923 S.W.2d 911 (Mo. 1996).

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State v. Nunley, 923 S.W.2d 911 (Mo. 1996). · cites it 6× “The order provides, in part, "Now on this 28th day of October, 1991, pursuant to Section 478.240 RSMo. and Local Court Rules, all of the judges of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit are recused from the above captioned cause and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is requested to…”

Matter of Voorhees, 739 S.W.2d 178 (Mo. 1987). · cites it 10× “, which repealed section 478.240, RSMo 1986, relating to circuit courts and enacted in lieu thereof a new provision.”

City of Kansas City v. Rule, 673 S.W.2d 21 (Mo. 1984). · cites it 7× “The assignment of associate circuit judges under § 478.240 to hear other classes of cases therefore constitutes an exception to the normal judicial business in those courts as contemplated by the legislature when original jurisdiction limitations on associate circuit courts were…”

In Re Marriage of Bruske, 656 S.W.2d 288 (Mo. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 5× “An associate circuit judge shall not hear and determine cases other than those authorized by subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section, except that associate circuit judges may hear and determine such case or classes of cases which are transferred or assigned to them pursuant to…”

Rogger v. Voyles, 797 S.W.2d 844 (Mo. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 5× “Apparently he had done so by January 11, 1989, because on that date he was transferred pursuant to § 478.240, RSMo Supp.1988 by the presiding judge of the 26th Judicial Circuit “for the purposes of hearing and determining” matters previously before him as a circuit judge…”

State ex rel. McNaul v. Bonacker, 711 S.W.2d 566 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 6× “Thus, it seems to us, the official must have reasoned that in order for the cause to be heard and determined by an associate circuit judge, it would have *568 to be assigned to an associate circuit judge pursuant to § 478.240, RSMo 1978, quoted in pertinent part in an upcoming…”

Jones v. Chrysler Corp., 731 S.W.2d 422 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 4× “4 read, in pertinent part: “An associate circuit judge shall not hear and determine cases other than those authorized by subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section, except that associate circuit judges may hear and determine such cases or classes of cases which are transferred or…”

State v. Williams, 46 S.W.3d 35 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 3× “Defendant asserts that Judge Quigless, as an associate circuit judge, lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine Defendant’s felony case, and her determination of his felony case was contrary to Sections 478.240, 541.015, and 546.095 and the local court rales.”

Vice v. Thurston, 793 S.W.2d 900 (Mo. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 3× “May 6, 1988 _ Channing Blaeuer Presiding Circuit Judge Aside from a passing comment that the foregoing assignment was not in compliance with § 478.240, RSMo 1986 by appellant (respondents did not even confront this contention), there is nothing claimed or any reasoning offered…”

State ex rel. Delgado v. Merrell, 86 S.W.3d 468 (Mo. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “See § 478.240, RSMo 2000. No authority has been presented to us, nor has our own independent research revealed any, which holds that *472 under these factual circumstances, Respondent would automatically be “designated” the trial judge for the underlying case upon his reassuming…”

Div. of Fam. Servs. v. Davison, 726 S.W.2d 464 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 4× “4 provided: An associate circuit, judge shall not hear and determine cases other than those authorized by subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section, except that associate circuit judges may hear and determine such cases or classes of cases which are transferred or assigned to them…”

Manor Square, Inc. v. Heartthrob of Kansas City, Inc., 854 S.W.2d 38 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). “Thereafter, when appellants filed a counterclaim in an amount which exceeded the jurisdictional limits of cases triable under Chapter 517, the case was certified under § 478.240 to proceed in accordance with the practice and procedures applicable before circuit judges.”

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