Springfield attorney Ginger Gooch among finalists for southern MO appellate court judge
Three attorneys in southwest Missouri have been chosen as finalists to fill a vacancy on Missouri's southern court of appeals.
The commission charged with selecting judicial nominees selected Ginger K. Gooch, Matthew P. Hamner and Joseph L. Hensley to fill a vacancy on the court from the retirement of Judge William W. Francis Jr. All three nominees received unanimous support from the seven-person panel.
Gooch, a partner with Husch Blackwell in Springfield, was previously nominated as a finalist for a separate vacancy on the southern district appellate court. She's a graduate of Stephens College and University of Missouri and lives in Springfield.
Hamner, who lives in Osage Beach, is the presiding judge of the circuit court for Camden, Laclede, Miller, Montineau and Morgan counties. He holds two degrees from the University of Missouri.
Hensley is an associate circuit judge and the presiding juvenile judge in Jasper County, and lives in Joplin. He's a two-time graduate of the University of Missouri.
Gov. Mike Parson has 60 days to make a selection from the three nominees; if he does not, the commission makes the appointment. Judge Becky Borthwick, who previously served on the Greene County Circuit Court, was selected last month to fill the previous vacancy on the southern district appellate court.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri courts: Gooch, Hamner, Hensley named appellate finalists
