Jefferson County just got its third municipal judge in a year.
Lester Stuckmeyer Jr., 54, of House Springs, who took over the job on June 5, said he intends to stick around for a while.
“There’s been some turnover lately, and I want to bring some stability to the court,” Stuckmeyer said. “As long as they’ll have me, I will do the job with my whole heart. I have no aspirations past this position.”
Stuckmeyer succeeds Jalesia F.M. Kuenzel, who was sworn in as the county’s fifth municipal judge on Nov. 15, but then was hired as county counselor, assuming those duties on June 1.
Kuenzel was appointed by Dennis Gannon, Jefferson County Executive, to replace Julianne “Juli” Platz Hand, who served almost four years in the position before she was elected on Nov. 8, 2022, to the Div. 11 associate circuit judgeship.
The municipal judge position is a part-time job.
Stuckmeyer will be paid $60,000 a year to hear traffic offenses, code violations and some minor criminal matters, easing the caseload on the rest of the judges in the county’s 23rd Circuit.
He is a partner with the Martin, Leyhe and Stuckmeyer law firm, which has offices in south St. Louis County and St. Charles.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1990 from Webster University and a law degree in 1993 from the University of Arkansas.
His resume includes time as a prosecuting attorney in Bentonville, Ark., and six years as general counsel for Physicians Research Laboratories, first in Branson and later in Nashville, Tenn.
Even before that company went out of business, Stuckmeyer said, he was setting up his practice in the St. Louis area, commuting back and forth while his wife, Monica; son, Wesley; and daughter, Molly, temporarily remained in Nashville.
“We wanted to get back to St. Louis,” he said, “and we love Jefferson County. We have wonderful neighbors, and my children (now grown) went to Northwest High. I’m happy to be a Lion.”
Although he grew up in St. Louis County, Stuckmeyer’s Jefferson County ties run deep, as members of his family have run a farm in Fenton bearing their name for years and other family members have run insurance offices in the county.
“If it’s a Stuckmeyer in Jefferson County, we’re all related in some way,” he said.
Municipal court fits him
Stuckmeyer’s areas of practice include collections, estate planning, probate and real estate.
“No, not stuff they show on TV or in the movies, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting stories,” he said. “I just got back from court, where a young man told us he was a new single father who had to Google how to change a diaper. You can’t make that kind of stuff up.
“But I’ve found that – even when I was a prosecutor – that what people want out of the court system is to be listened to, to be respected, to feel like they’ve had their day in court. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way they planned, they still feel as if they’ve been treated fairly.
“That’s how I want to run the municipal court. I’ve done lots of things over my career, and I was looking for something that would give me a new challenge. That’s why I was attracted to it.”
Stuckmeyer said his first court dates went well.
“I think that what I do in private practice relates very well to what I will do on the bench,” he said. “I will tell anybody who asks that this job can be done well if you show respect for everyone, regardless of their income, appearance or personal circumstances. If you put those things into practice, people will feel like they’ve had their day in court. You can do this job and still be a decent person, and I think in some circles, people in the legal profession have sometimes felt differently.”
Gannon said he considered six people for the job, some of whom applied late last year when Hand departed.
“He has the kind of experience that I was looking for,” Gannon said. “He has the ability and the temperament, and I’m also looking for some stability. But on the other hand, if something happens down the line, I would never stand in someone’s way if they feel like they want to better themselves. You never know how life is going to turn out.”
The Jefferson County Council voted 4-2 with an abstention in a May 22 closed session to confirm Stuckmeyer’s appointment.
Council members Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs) and Shannon Otto (District 3, Arnold) cast dissenting votes while Gene Barbagallo (District 2, Imperial) abstained.
“I have nothing against him,” Tullock said of Stuckmeyer. “I hope he does a great job. It’s just that I didn’t get enough information. I was given his resume on the Wednesday or Thursday before the meeting. I know nothing about this guy, and for me to make a decision on him after us spending maybe 15 minutes with him (in the closed meeting) without being able to talk with him and finding out about him, I couldn’t do. It’s advise and consent. I have no problem with the consent part.”
Otto said she had “no comment at this time” about her vote.
Barbagallo said he abstained because Stuckmeyer is related to the farming Stuckmeyers.
“My family does business with his family, so I didn’t want to put any shade on the vote,” he said.