Sam JonesThe Missouri Court of Appeals has ruled that attorney Sam Jones can appear as the Republican candidate for Lawrence County associate circuit judge in November.
Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Robert "Bob" George, who lost in the August 3rd primary election, sued Jones in May. The basis of George's lawsuit was that Jones had not resided in Lawrence County for a year before the election as he lived and worked in and around Kansas City, and that he and his wife, Janice, were registered voters in Jackson County.
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Lawrence County Prosecutor Robert "Bob" George
A circuit court judge in Jasper County ruled against George and he appealed the ruling to the state court of appeals.
The justices cited a previous ruling that not living full-time in Lawrence County did not disqualify Jones. The justices cited the 2004 case of State of Missouri v. Neeley which says, "Residency is a question of fact that is to be determined from the acts and intentions of an individual citizen."
The circuit judge and the appeals court noted that Jones and his wife have a home in Mount Vernon, have ties to the community and fully intended to move back when his job ended in Kansas City. Jones and his wife have remained in the Kansas city area to be near her doctors while she undergoes treatment for cancer.
Jones previously served as associate circuit judge in Lawrence County from 1991 to 1998. Before that, he had a private law practice in Mount Vernon.
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