The 43rd Judicial Circuit includes Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb and Livingston Counties. Voters in each county elect an Associate Circuit Judge to serve their county, and the voters of all five counties together elect two circuit judges whose jurisdiction extends to all five counties. These two circuit judges are elected in two divisions, I and II.
A Chillicothe attorney was appointed to fill an opening for the 43rd Circuit Judge for Division 1. Governor Mike Parson appointed Ryan Horsman to fill the position through the remainder of the year. Horsman won the August 2018 primary election for the position and ran unopposed in the November 2018 general election. He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Thomas N. Chapman, who now serves on the Western District Court of Appeals (see below).
Thomas "Tom" Chapman
Attorney Thomas "Tom" Chapman of Chillicothe became a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit, Division 1, in 2011. He was elected as the presiding judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in 2012. He was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, by Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday, August 30, and resigned as Circuit Judge on Tuesday, September 4. Chapman will succeed Judge James E. Welsh, who retired in March.
Ryan Horsman
Ryan Horsman of Chillicothe took office as Division 1 Circuit Judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in Missouri on November 29, 2018. He was elected presiding judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in 2020. The 43rd Judicial Circuit is comprised of Livingston, Daviess, DeKalb, Clinton and Caldwell Counties.
A Chillicothe attorney was appointed to fill an opening for the 43rd Circuit Judge for Division 1. Governor Mike Parson appointed Ryan Horsman to fill the position through the remainder of the year. Horsman won the August 2018 primary election for the position and ran unopposed in the November 2018 general election. He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Thomas N. Chapman, who now serves on the Western District Court of Appeals (see below).
Thomas "Tom" Chapman
Attorney Thomas "Tom" Chapman of Chillicothe became a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit, Division 1, in 2011. He was elected as the presiding judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in 2012. He was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, by Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday, August 30, and resigned as Circuit Judge on Tuesday, September 4. Chapman will succeed Judge James E. Welsh, who retired in March.
Ryan Horsman
Ryan Horsman of Chillicothe took office as Division 1 Circuit Judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in Missouri on November 29, 2018. He was elected presiding judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit in 2020. The 43rd Judicial Circuit is comprised of Livingston, Daviess, DeKalb, Clinton and Caldwell Counties.
Michael R. Leamer
Michael R. Leamer is an Associate Circuit Court Judge for the 43rd Circuit Court in Missouri. He was elected to the 43rd Judicial Circuit Court in 2018 for a term that expires in 2022. -- Leamer, an attorney with 18 years experience in private practice and 14 years as a municipal judge for the city of Polo, filed for the open seat of Associate Circuit Court Judge in 2018. Leamer received a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Missouri, where he also then received his Juris Doctor. Leamer resides in Blue Mound Township. He filed on the Republican ticket, replacing James Valbracht, a Republican, who served as associate circuit judge since his election in 2006. Leamer took office after a swearing-in ceremony held at the Livingston County courthouse on December 28, 2018.