Nominees sent to governor for St. Louis circuit judge vacancy

The 22^nd Circuit Judicial Commission has submitted three nominees to Gov. Michael Kehoe to fill an associate circuit judge vacancy.

The chosen candidate would fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Catherine Dierker to fill the circuit judge vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David C. Mason. The three nominees are Nathan Arunski, Nathaniel Diekman and Michael Walton.

Arunski, a St. Louis attorney, received his law degree in 2001 from the University of Kansas.

Diekman obtained his J.D. in 2016 from Loyola University-Chicago. He is a private practice attorney.

Walton is a family court commissioner. He received his J.D. from Saint Louis University in 1996.

The commission reports Arunski received four votes, Diekman received four votes and Walton received five votes. Fourteen applicants were interviewed in public interviews on Tuesday.

“The commission believes these candidates, chosen from a field of extremely qualified individuals, possess those qualities essential to the fair and efficient administration of justice. The commission is confident each of these individuals is capable of serving well and honorably if selected by the governor,” the commission said in a press release.