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Rule 121.02 – Change of Judicial Officer

May 13, 2021 | Family Law, Missouri

a. A change of judicial officer shall be ordered upon the timely filing of a written application by a party.
b. The application need not allege any cause for a change of judicial officer and need not be verified but shall specifically designate the judicial officer against whom the application is filed.
c. The application in a proceeding under subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of section 211.031, RSMo, must be filed within five days after the protective custody hearing required under Rule 123.05 has been held or within five days after the judicial officer for the hearing on the petition is designated, whichever is later. If the judicial officer is designated less than five days before the scheduled hearing on the petition, the application must be filed prior to commencement of any proceedings on the record.
d. The application in a proceeding under subdivision (2) or (3) of subsection 1 of section 211.031, RSMo, must be filed within five days after the detention hearing required under Rule 127.08 has been held or within five days after the judicial officer for the hearing on the petition is designated, whichever is later. If the judicial officer is designated less than five days before the scheduled hearing on the petition, the application must be filed prior to commencement of any proceedings on the record.
e. A copy of the application and notice of the date and time when it will be presented shall be served on all parties.
f. The judicial officer promptly shall sustain a timely application for a change of judicial officer upon its presentation.
g. Once an application filed by a party, other than the juvenile officer, has been sustained, no further applications, except under Rule 121.01, shall be permitted.
h. A change of judicial officer under this Rule 121.02 shall not be permitted in connection with a supplemental petition or a motion to modify a prior order of disposition under chapter 211, RSMo, or in connection with a petition filed under section 211.447, RSMo, unless the designated judicial officer is not the judicial officer who conducted the hearing on the petition.

Mo. R. Prac. P. Juv. Ct. & Fam. Ct. 121.02

Adopted May 20, 2009, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.

Comment

A change of judicial officer under this Rule 121.02 may constitute a compelling extenuating circumstance for purposes of Rule 123.05 and Rule 124.04 a(2).

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