ST. LOUIS— The Missouri Supreme Court has denied St. Louis County's appeal application in county prosecutor case, solidifying the governor's pick to replace Wesley Bell.
A state appeals court ruled Thursday afternoon that because a "prosecuting attorney performs essential state governmental functions", state statutes give Missouri Gov. Mike Parson the authority to fill the pending vacancy in St. Louis County as Wesley Bell leaves the office for Congress.
The three-judge panel for the Eastern District Court of Appeals issued the ruling a few hours after arguments were held Thursday morning.
Bell will be sworn in as a member of Congress Friday in Washington.
St. Louis County will appeal the case to the state's supreme court.
"St. Louis County should be able to select its own elected officials. Public safety is the number one priority in St. Louis County. While the legal process continues, it's important to support the prosecuting attorney's office," Doug Moore, Communications Director for County Executive Sam Page told Spectrum News Thursday.
St. Louis County appealed a lower court ruling that gave the power to the governor’s office. Gov. Mike Parson sued after County Executive Sam Page announced he would appoint former private attorney and federal prosecutor Cort VanOstran.
Parson named his own appointee, Melissa Price Smith, a veteran prosecutor in the office. Pending another potential court outcome, Price Smith is scheduled to be sworn into the office Friday and would serve through the end of 2026.
On Thursday morning, a three-judge panel of Missouri’s Eastern District Court of Appeals heard the case, with hopes of having a decision soon.
“Straighten this mess out for me,” Judge Roy Richter inquired of Neal Perryman, the attorney representing St. Louis County as he began his argument.
The brief hearing addressed questions of whether the prosecuting attorney is an officer of the state or not, and whether the law specifically spells out the authority for filling a vacancy.
In both cases, the circuit court ruled in favor of the state’s interpretation.
Price Smith will not require county council approval if she remains in the position. She currently leads the office’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse team and says she plans to create separate units for violent crime and homicides. She also says she wants to work with circuit judges to create a “Rocket Docket” consisting of lower-level offenses that can be cleared through quickly to ease a backlog of cases in the system.