Judge Powell begins two-year term as Missouri chief justice

Judge W. Brent Powell is the next chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Powell assumed the two-year term July 1 and will serve through June 30, 2027. He succeeds Judge Mary R. Russell, who remains on the court.

Powell, a Springfield native, received his undergraduate degree from William Jewell College in Liberty, and his law degree from the University of Missouri in 1996. While in law school, he interned for Missouri Supreme Court Judge Elwood Thomas.

He started at Lathrop & Gage in Kansas City in 1996 before entering the public sector as a prosecutor for the Platte County prosecutor’s office a year later. He worked at that office until 2001, when he became an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City.

During his tenure there, he served as chief of the general crimes unit and executive assistant U.S. attorney. In 2008, he was appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt to a circuit judge position in Jackson County. He was appointed to the state’s highest court in April 2017 by Gov. Eric Greitens. Voters retained him for a 12-year term in November 2018.

In addition to serving as chief justice, Powell will continue to serve as chair of the Missouri Sentencing Advisory Committee.

RELATED:

Legal Services dedicates Peabody Plaza conference room in honor of late Missouri Supreme Court justice
Missouri Chief Justice highlights progress, calls for continued investment in courts
Eroding confidence in the court — Chief Justice of Missouri Supreme Court cautions attorneys