Missouri judge suspended over dispute with public defenders

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court suspended a Lincoln County judge accused of delaying the assignment of public defenders in probation cases Tuesday.

The court suspended Judge Christina Kunza Mennemeyer without pay for six months starting Feb. 1.

The action comes in response to a 2014 complaint filed by the director of the Missouri State Public Defender System, who said Mennemeyer deliberately waited to assign public defenders until after the deadline for requesting a new trial judge for a case had passed. Court documents state Mennemeyer also threatened to file complaints against attorneys who tried to represent defendants before she assigned them to the case.

The dispute was over a Missouri law dictating when a public defender can appear in court or file on behalf of a defendant charged with a probation violation. Mennemeyer argued no public defenders can represent a client before they are appointed by the court.

After a request for a meeting with Mennemeyer to settle the disagreement was ignored, the public defender's office filed a complaint with the Missouri judiciary's Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline. The commission found in all of the cases with a delayed appointment, the defendant had no money or valuable assets, and Mennemeyer had violated the judicial code of ethics.

On Tuesday, the court accepted the commission's recommendation.

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson wrote in a concurring opinion Mennemeyer "purposely subverted the rights" of some defendants in her "feud" with the public defender and was therefore in violation of judicial ethics.

Mennemeyer and her lawyer did not immediately respond to calls for comment Tuesday.