JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A former state representative will take over a newly created position on the associate circuit bench.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced Monday that Tim Flook of Liberty, Missouri would become Clay County’s newest Associate Circuit Judge. The longtime attorney at Flook & Graham currently provides legal representation to the county as an assistant counselor. He was also past president and treasurer of the Hispanic Bar Association of Greater Kansas City.
Flook was delighted to take the role.
“It’s a very special privilege and it’s a public trust position,” he said. “People are counting me to push back on pride and envy and focus on the truth of the cause the parties have put before me.”
The Republican former representative said Clay County’s population growth the past few years led to a need for another circuit division.
“It’s a brand new division because of the pop growth in Clay County,” he said. “We’ve been needing… more judges here because of the growth in case loads.”
Nixon cited Flook’s long resume as an asset for such a position.
“Tim Flook’s wide-ranging legal experience in Clay County makes him well-suited for this position, and I am confident he will ably serve the people of Clay County on the bench,” he said.
In his time in the legislature from 2005 to 2010, Flook served as chairman of the Economic Development and Job Creation Committee and as vice-chair of the Judiciary Committee, two positions that gave him a chance to work directly with Nixon.
“I had a direct working relationship with Gov. Nixon, and we just got to know each other in a professional level,” Flook said. “I knew he was going to look at my resume and what I’ve accomplished and not my party.”
Flook added that the Democratic governor’s appointment of a Republican into such a position showed that the impartial system put forth in the Missouri constitution worked.
“The nonpartisan court plan is exactly that, and the governor is making selections based on quality,” he said.
