Judge Jack A. L. Goodman, of Monett, has been elected by the judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, as the court’s chief judge, made effective June 19.

His term as chief judge, expected to last through June 2024, follows that of Judge Gary W. Lynch, who is retiring from the court.

The chief judge is the court’s administrative officer and presides at all sessions, conferences, hearings, and meetings of the court en banc (with all seven members). The Southern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals hears all appeals from the circuit courts of the southern 44 counties in the state, except those appeals reserved exclusively to the Supreme Court of Missouri. The Southern District has courtrooms located in Springfield and Poplar Bluff.

Appointed to the appeals court by Governor Michael L. Parson in December 2020, Goodman previously served as the presiding judge of the 39th Circuit (Barry, Lawrence and Stone counties) from 2012 through 2020.

Before his judicial service, Goodman practiced law for 14 years in Mt. Vernon. Goodman also served in the Missouri Senate from 2005 until he was term-limited in 2012. In the Senate, Goodman chaired multiple committees, including the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

Prior to his Senate service, Goodman served in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to leadership positions in both chambers.

Goodman is a member of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal, a national organization dedicated to the administration of justice in the nation’s intermediate appellate courts and the continuing education of its chief judges.

Goodman graduated from Pierce City High School before earning his bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.