Platte News

Barbara Fulk’s track record as an educator and public administrator has lead her to high legal places, particularly after former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon appointed her to the Sixth Circuit Judicial Commission where she participates in the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan for selecting judges.

“I have always been very interested in civics and how our government functions, and between my teaching background, my work for a county office and then for an attorney, I feel I have a better understanding of the functions of our government and our court systems than perhaps the general public does,” Fulk told Platte News.

The commission is comprised of five individuals. Two are lawyers elected by Missouri bar members, two non-lawyers are citizens appointed by the governor and one is chief judge of the district of the Court of Appeals who serves for two years. The two non-lawyer members and elected lawyer members of the commission serve six years each, according to the Missouri Courts website. 

Barbara Fulk | Barbara Fulk

Fulk is one of the appointed laypeople.

“My name was suggested to the committee to fill a vacancy on the commission in 2016,” Fulk said in an interview. “I filled out the appropriate paperwork, was interviewed by a panel from the governor's office and was then appointed.”

Fulk, who is passionate about the entire judicial system, says ensuring that the court system remains unbiased and fair to all is a priority.

The way the commission fills judicial vacancies is governed by the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, which was adopted by ballot initiative in the 1940s. The commission’s merit-based, non-partisan process of selecting judges has become a national model adopted by other states. 

“Although the commission hasn't had the occasion to convene until now, I look forward to the opportunity to participate in the important process of selecting a new judge," she said. 

A seat was recently vacated in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court.

“We will begin our work shortly,” Fulk said. “Like almost everyone else, we will be doing the work remotely. I've never been a part of a virtual meeting other than Zoom happy hour with my book club so, I will be interested to see how this goes.”

As a high school social studies teacher, Fulk taught civics, government and dual credit history classes through the University of Missouri Kansas City as well as U.S. history and world history. After retiring in 1998, she landed a deputy public administrator position with the Platte County Public Administrator's Office and worked there until 2010.

“I then worked part-time for an attorney until fully retiring in 2015,” she added.