The Howard County Courthouse received a distinguished guest on Monday. Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, Mary R. Russell, paid a visit to the 14the Circuit Court. 

Judge Russell is serving her second term as Chief Justice and is making it a point to visit every circuit in the state during her current two-year term. The 14th Circuit, which serves of Howard and Randolph Counties, marks her 20th of Missouri’s 46 districts.

While Judge Russell has previously visited the Randolph County Justice Center in Huntsville, she marveled at Fayette’s historic courtroom during her first trip to Fayette. “This mural is just unbelievable,” she said, taking in the large painting by Fayette artist Peggy Guest on the rear wall of the courtroom.

“It’s a beautiful structure. You should treasure it,” she said about the courthouse.

Judge Russell toured the courthouse with Presiding Judge Scott Hayes and Associate Circuit Judge Mason Gebhardt. She took time to meet and visit with all courthouse personnel.

“My purpose in doing this is to thank all the clerks, our frontline officers, our juvenile officers, our treatment court folks,” she said. “Most of them have never met a Supreme Court judge. They think of us as being way down there in Jefferson City and removed. My purpose is just to come out and say, ‘Thank you.’ Because these people are on the front line, they’re the heroes. They are the face of our court. I want them to know we appreciate them.”

Judge Russell took time to speak with the Advertiser at the end of her visit here. She outlined the statewide need for additional juvenile detention facilities and lauded treatment courts for helping get addicts “get back on the right track and become productive members of society and become loving members of their family again.”

Judge Russell identified mental health as one of the top challenges for Missouri courts. 

“You talk to your local judges here, and the number of people who come in front of them with mental health issues has just increased dramatically over the years,” she said.

Judge Russell grew up on a dairy farm in Hannibal, where she graduated valedictorian of her high school class. She earned an undergraduate degree from Truman State University and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. She was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court in 2004 and served as Chief Justice from 2013 to 2015.