Jefferson City counselor a candidate for appeals court judge

Sally Ince/ News Tribune
Jefferson City Counselor Ryan Moehlman stands in an office Thursday August 15, 2019 at City Hall.
Sally Ince/ News Tribune Jefferson City Counselor Ryan Moehlman stands in an office Thursday August 15, 2019 at City Hall.

The City Counselor for Jefferson City is a candidate to fill a vacancy on the Western District Court of Appeals.

Ryan Moehlman is one of 13 applicants being considered, according to a press release from the Appellate Judicial Commission.

The vacancy was created in November when Judge Victor C. Howard retired from the appeals court.

Moehlman has been serving as Jefferson City Counselor since October 2016 after serving as Columbia’s assistant city counselor.

Moehlman graduated in May 2004 from Missouri State University in Springfield with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science.

He earned his law degree in May 2007 from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

He was a legislative intern with then-House Majority Leader Mark Wright, R-Springfield, from January through May 2004.

He was a law clerk for Dennis Owens, a Kansas City attorney, from June 2005 through May 2006 and worked in the Lee’s Summit law department from May 2006 through May 2007.

After passing the Missouri Bar exam, Moehlman worked as an associate attorney with a St. Louis law firm from September 2007 through September 2014 and then went to work in Columbia.

Another candidate with local ties is Cheryl Nield who served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant Cole County Prosecutor.

The appellate commission will conduct interviews with all 13 candidates on Feb. 13 at the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City. After the interviews, the commission is expected to meet and select three nominees for Gov. Mike Parson’s consideration.