By MICHELLE
FRIEDRICH
Staff Writer
GREENVILLE -- Missouri Gov. Michael Parson announced Friday the appointment of Piedmont attorney Christina Kime as Wayne County's new associate circuit judge.
Kime, who is running unopposed for the position in the general election, will succeed Judge Randy Schuller, who retired last month. She expects to be sworn in on Sept. 1.
Kime will serve the remaining four months of Schuller's term, and then began her first term as judge in January.
"I was running as a Democrat; (Republican) Gov. Parson couldn't have been better," Kime said. "There was obviously no discussions of politics."
From what the governor said, "I had great references," citing her work with the appellate court and the support she had of the circuit judges, Kime said. "I've been practicing for about 30 years; I guess they thought I could do" the job.
Kime believes her appointment came "pretty quickly. This was his first appointment" since becoming governor.
Until Thursday, Kime said, she had no idea when the governor's appointment might happen.
As a solo-practice attorney, Kime said, she has been trying to "wind up my office" since July.
"Luckily, I was (running) unopposed," she said. "I was able to start that process. I didn't know if it would be now or January" when the office closed.
At this time, Kime anticipates she has about two to three weeks to dispose of her pending cases and close her office before she is sworn in.
Sept. 1, Kime said, is the anticipated date "unless something changes, and we have to move it up."
Kime said she is very pleased with the appointment, which makes her the first female judge in Wayne County.
"I am really very excited about that, but my husband may be more excited," especially since Wayne County is celebrating its bicentennial at the same time, said Kime, who previously served as the Piedmont Rotary Club's first female president.
"It was an honor to be (the club's) first female president; this is an honor as well," Kime said. "Now, all I have to do is get in here and do the job."
Kime hopes her being a judge will serve as a role model for other women.
"There are so many ladies in law school; it's good for them to see those positions are just as available to them as the men," said Kime.
Kime has practiced law in Wayne County for more than 25 years.Prior to working in private practice, she was a law clerk to Judge Robert Crist in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Missouri Law Review. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the School of the Ozarks and is a graduate of Clearwater R-I High School.
Kime received the Rotarian of the Year Award from the Piedmont Rotary Club and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.She is also the recipient of the Philip S. Huffman Memorial Award.