Governor Michael Parson appointed Cory L. Atkins to a circuit judgeship on September 26, 2019. Atkins had already served as an associate circuit judge. The date marks a particular appointment in the same circuit, not the first occasion on which he performed judicial work. It is a distinction worth retaining in a public biography.
How the candidates reach the governor
Jackson County uses Missouri’s merit plan. The circuit’s account describes a judicial commission that interviews applicants and sends a panel of three names to the governor. That is a different route into office from an ordinary contested campaign. To study the relationship between law and politics one must first know which route an individual took.