Appeals judge to take over court

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri appeals court judge was appointed Monday to take over Ferguson’s municipal court and make “needed reforms” after a highly critical U.S. Department of Justice report that was prompted by the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.

The Missouri Supreme Court said it is assigning state appeals Judge Roy L. Richter to hear all of Ferguson’s pending and future municipal court cases. The high court said Richter also will have the authority to overhaul court policies to ensure defendants’ rights are respected and to “restore the integrity of the system.”

Ferguson Municipal Judge Ronald J. Brockmeyer resigned Monday, saying through a spokesman that he was stepping down to promote public confidence in the court and help Ferguson “begin its healing process.”

The Ferguson City Council met in closed session Monday evening, but members left without taking questions and a city spokesman didn’t disclose the purpose of the meeting. Ferguson City Manager John Shaw was escorted to his vehicle by a police officer without fielding questions, and Mayor James Knowles III declined comment to the Associated Press afterward except to say that the city would begin seeking Brockmeyer’s permanent successor today.

Richter will take charge of the court on March 16. The Supreme Court said it also is assigning staff from the state court administrator’s office to aid Richter in reviewing Ferguson’s municipal court practices.

The change comes after the Justice Department released a report last week that cited cases of racial profiling and bigotry by police and chided what it described as a profit-driven municipal court system in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb where Brown, 18, was shot by a white Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9.

A St. Louis County grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department both declined to bring charges against Officer Darren Wilson, who resigned from the department. The Justice Department report said Wilson acted in self-defense when he shot Brown.