Mayor Cara Spencer today announced three appointments to the Municipal Courts of the City of St. Louis. Municipal Judge Joan K. Miller will become Administrative Judge, attorney Douglas J. Hurst will join the bench as a Municipal Judge, and former Administrative Law Judge Maribeth McMahon will serve as a Provisional Judge. All three appointments were sworn in on October 15, 2026.Judge Miller succeeds Judge Newton McCoy, who is retiring October 21, 2026, after leading the court as Administrative Judge since 2017 and serving more than three decades as a provisional City Court judge before that. Hurst fills the Municipal Judge seat left vacant when Judge Karma Edwards was appointed by Governor Mike Kehoe in February 2026 as an Associate Circuit Judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit.”Our Municipal Court is where most St. Louisans come face to face with the justice system, over a traffic ticket, a housing code violation, or a problem property in their neighborhood. Residents deserve a court that is fair, efficient, and treats every person with respect,” said Mayor Spencer. “Judge Miller, Doug Hurst, and Maribeth McMahon bring decades of experience from every side of the courtroom, as prosecutors, defenders, and judges. I’m grateful to Judge McCoy for his long service to this city, and confident this team will keep moving our courts forward.”Judge Joan K. Miller, Administrative JudgeAs Administrative Judge, Judge Miller will serve as the chief judicial officer of the Municipal Courts. She will oversee docket management, case assignments, and administrative policy across all courtrooms. She will also lead work to modernize court procedures, expand access to the courts, and partner with the City Counselor’s Office and the Circuit Clerk.Judge Miller has served as a St. Louis Municipal Judge since 2013, presiding over arraignment, trial, traffic, housing, and nuisance dockets, as well as the court’s Special Assistance Docket. Since 2018 she has also served as a hearing officer in attorney disciplinary cases for the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Office of Legal Ethics Counsel, and since 2024 as a member of its Advisory Committee.She began her legal career in 1995 as an Assistant Circuit Attorney in the City of St. Louis, where she spent more than two years in the Sex Crimes, Child Abuse, and Family Violence Unit and served as lead attorney on more than a dozen felony jury trials. She later served as a claims attorney for UniGroup, Inc., and in 2003 founded her own practice focused on criminal defense and family law. She serves on the lead Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and as a Guardian ad Litem in St. Louis Family Court.A lifelong civic volunteer, Judge Miller has served as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of St. Louis since 2004. She earned her law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College. Before law school, she spent ten years as 

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