Missouri Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson recognized Judge Laura Johnson and Judge Jennifer Growcock from Christian County for participating in the judicial transfer program in the last fiscal year during a ceremony honoring exemplary service to the people of Missouri.
The ceremony was held Sept. 23, as part of the annual meeting of the Judicial Conference of Missouri, the organization of all state judges, in St. Louis. The judicial transfer program maximizes efficient use of Missouri’s available judicial resources by allowing the presiding judge of a judicial circuit to ask the Supreme Court of Missouri to assign a judge from anywhere in the state to hear cases in the circuit. A transfer often is requested when local judges have recused from a case.
“The efficient administration of justice is never easy, but the COVID pandemic has presented new challenges for us to overcome,” Wilson said. “Without the help of these very special judges who answered the call of duty and handled those special assignments outside their home circuits, it would not have been possible, and we gratefully acknowledge the contributions they have made.”
Judge Johnson has served as a presiding circuit judge since 2015. She currently serves as President of the Circuit Judges’ Association and is a member of the State Judicial Records Committee and Civic Education Committee. Johnson also oversees the drug, DWI and Veterans treatment courts in the 38th Judicial Circuit, which encompasses all of Christian County. She previously worked as an attorney with the firm Ellis, Ellis, Hammons and Johnson, P.C. in Springfield from 1991-2014.
Judge Growcock has served as circuit judge since Jan. 1, 2017. In addition to presiding over multiple out-of-county cases, she currently handles one-half of all felony criminal cases and circuit civil cases for Christian County, plus about 20 percent of the court’s domestic cases.
Prior to going on the bench, Growcock was a shareholder with the law firm Polsinelli, P.C. in Springfield and Kansas City from 2010-2016, and an associate attorney with the law firm Husch Blackwell from 2004-2010.
