Travis Partney will begin serving as the Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit judge earlier than expected.
On Nov. 4, Gov. Mike Parson appointed Partney to the position in the 23rd Judicial Circuit to replace Dianna Bartels, who sent her letter of resignation to the governor on Oct. 25.
Bartels’ resignation took effect on Tuesday, Nov. 1, according to the letter she sent the governor.
Partney, 42, of Imperial said he will not take over the judge position until after he receives his commission in the mail, and then he will need to be sworn in by a judge in Jefferson County’s 23rd Judicial Circuit.
“I should receive (the commission) in approximately three to five business days,” he said Nov. 4. “From that period of time, I have 30 days to be sworn in and then I would take office.”
Partney had defeated Bartels and Michelle Hughes in the August Republican primary election and was set to become the Div. 3 Circuit judge in January because no Democrat had filed for the post.
“I’m grateful to the governor’s office for giving me the chance to get started early,” said Partney, who is currently the first assistant prosecuting attorney in the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Circuit judges serve six-year terms and are paid $159,578 per year.
Partney, a former associate circuit judge, said it is exciting to be sworn in earlier than anticipated.
“It kind of gets the logistical bumps of any transition out of the way, so when January rolls around, we are ready to go,” he said.
Partney said he may be assigned some court dates in December.
“We want to keep things as consistent as possible for all of those involved so we are not switching dates,” he said. “But really, I’m looking at January and beyond where it should be a normal docket.”
Partney said he will need to complete his assignments with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office prior to being sworn in as a judge.
“It will be a couple of busy weeks for me,” he said. “The good news is this time of year is not a bad time to do something like this because a lot of our work in November and December focuses on administrative work, like charging. There are no trials scheduled for me as far as December goes.”
Bartels won the Div. 3 Circuit judge election in 2016, unseating Nathan Stewart, a Democrat. She did not respond to request from the Leader to discuss her resignation.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of the State of Missouri,” Bartels said in her resignation letter to Parson.