Broniec named to Missouri Supreme Court

Gov. Mike Parson has selected Judge Kelly Broniec, currently of the Court of Appeals Eastern District, as the next judge of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Broniec, who was announced on Sept. 12 in a press conference outside Parson’s Capitol office, transforms the state’s highest court — at least briefly — into a majority-female court. Two of the four women now on the seven-member court were named by Parson.

“Appointing someone to serve on our State’s highest Court and in such a central role to the functioning of our democracy is not something that I take lightly,” Parson said in a statement. “Not only is Judge Broniec an exceptional jurist but she’s an even better person. She is a proud woman of faith who comes from humble beginnings and worked hard to pave her own way. We are confident that her appointment will help reshape and strengthen the Missouri Supreme Court and our judicial system as a whole.”

Broniec is one of three finalists that the Appellate Judicial Commission named on Aug. 22 to succeed Judge George W. Draper III. The others were Judges Michael E. Gardner and Ginger K. Gooch.

Parson previously named Broniec joined the Eastern District in 2020 after serving for 14 years as the elected associate circuit judge for Montgomery County. She was that county’s prosecutor from 1999 to 2006.

Broniec is currently the chief judge of the Eastern District. She earned her law degree in 1996 from the University of Missouri.

The Supreme Court’s majority could be short-lived. Judge Patricia Breckenridge will step down Oct. 13 ahead of reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age. The judicial commission plans to meet Oct. 23 and 24 to publicly interview applicants and select three finalists.

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