Parson appoints Springfield judge to state Supreme court

SBJ file

Judge Ginger Gooch is joining the Missouri Supreme Court.

Springfield Judge Ginger Gooch has been chosen by Gov. Mike Parson to fill a vacant seat on the Missouri Supreme Court.

Gooch, a judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, in Springfield, was selected over finalists Michael Gardner and John Torbitzky, both of whom are judges in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, in St. Louis.

"Judge Gooch has fought her whole career to help give the next generations of Missourians a hand up, especially women. Building the bench is as important to her as it is to me, and she works tirelessly to ensure the most qualified people have an opportunity," Parson said in a news release. "She clerked for the first woman on the Missouri Supreme Court, and now with her appointment, we cement the first female majority on our state's highest court in state history."

Gooch is joining the following state Supreme Court judges:
• Chief Justice Mary R. Russell.
• Judge W. Brent Powell.
• Judge Zel M. Fischer.
• Judge Robin Ransom.
• Judge Paul C. Wilson.
• Judge Kelly C. Broniec.

Gooch is slated to be sworn in within 30 days of her appointment. A date has not yet been set.

On the state Supreme Court, Gooch succeeds Judge Patricia Breckenridge, who retired earlier this month, according to past reporting.

It was Gooch's second shot at a Supreme Court seat this year. Gooch was named a finalist in August for the Supreme Court seat vacancy created by the retirement of Judge George W. Draper III, though that position ultimately went to Judge Broniec, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, in St. Louis.

Gooch, who previously was a partner at Husch Blackwell LLP, was selected late last year by Parson for her current bench seat in Springfield, according to past reporting.

Gooch clerked at the Supreme Court of Missouri before starting in private practice in 2001. She was a partner at Husch Blackwell LLP from 2008 until she was named a judge and practiced business litigation, education, banking and appellate law, according to past reporting.