Christian County judge gets appeals court appointment

SBJ File

Jennifer Growcock will serve as a judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District.

Gov. Mike Parson appointed a Christian County judge to an appeals court role left vacant in October.

Jennifer Growcock now will serve as a judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, according to a news release. She succeeds Judge Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer, who retired.

Growcock, who earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law, most recently has served as a circuit judge in Christian County.

She was among three finalists submitted to the governor last month by the state's Appellate Judicial Commission. Judge Joseph Hensley, an associate circuit judge and presiding juvenile judge in Jasper County, and Judge Laura Johnson, presiding judge of the 38th Judicial Circuit in Christian County, also were in the running, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, which operates out of the Hammons Building in downtown Springfield, comprises seven judges who cover cases in 44 southern Missouri counties, according to its website.