Rule 18.04 Certification of Nonlawyer Judges

If you are a municipal judge in Missouri but you are not a lawyer, you still have to get certified to do the job. This means you must complete a training course set by the certification committee. This requirement comes from state law (section 479.020), and the court rule makes sure it is enforced.

On top of finishing the course, nonlawyer judges also have to follow any other policies and steps the committee sets up for certification. Basically, the committee decides exactly how the certification process works, and nonlawyer judges must follow those steps closely, not just complete the basic course. This helps make sure judges who are not trained lawyers still have the knowledge they need to handle municipal court cases fairly and correctly.