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Ewing applies for vacancy on appellate court
Vernon County prosecuting attorney Lynn M. Ewing III is one of 19 applicants for a vacant position on the Western Missouri Court of Appeals. According to a press release from the Supreme Court of Missouri, Appellate Judge James Smart, Jr., retired on Feb. 15, and Ewing has applied to fill the vacancy.
The Missouri Appellate Commission says 11 of the 18 applicants for the position are employed in the public sector, seven work in the private sector and one is employed in both sectors. Three of the applicants are sitting judges. Applicant interviews are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 25, at the Western Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City, Mo.
The seven member Appellate Commission is made up of Chief Justice Richard B. Teitelman of the Missouri Supreme Court, three attorneys elected to the position by members of the Missouri Bar Association and three private citizens.
The commission plans to begin the process of choosing three nominees for Governor Jay Nixon to consider about four o'clock that afternoon. This is the third time that Ewing has applied for a vacant position on the Appellate Court, but he said he's "never made the panel of three."
Ewing comes from a long line of attorneys. His great grandfather, grandfather and father were attorneys, and Ewing said that when he returned to Nevada and the family law practice in 1983, he got to do most of the appeals work because other lawyers in the firm handled the trials and civil cases. "I just love that kind of work," he said, the digging, the research, the writing. Ewing said the appellate position is something he has "aspired to do" for a long time. "I would love to sit as an appellate judge."
Ewing became the Vernon County Prosecutor in 1998 when it was still a part-time position. Voters decided to make it a full-time job in 2002, and Ewing stayed with it, even though he had to abandon his private practice. He said a part-time prosecutor could still practice privately, but by state statute, a full-time prosecutor cannot.
After the commission chooses three prospective applicants, each has to be interviewed by Gov. Jay Nixon. Nixon will then choose one of the three to fill the vacancy. Ewing said it may take as long as 60 days for the governor to make a selection. In the meantime, Ewing will keep working here. "I just love this work," he said. Ewing said he would relish the opportunity to be an appellate judge. "I hope," he said, "but if it doesn't happen, I'll sit here and do the people's work in Vernon County.