On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, KMMO reported that a former Carroll County judge, Joe Don McGaugh, had his law license suspended by the Missouri Supreme Court. The suspension, effective immediately, follows a ruling by the top court on Tuesday, June 2. This action comes three months after McGaugh had agreed to retire from the bench.
The order cited Court Rule 5.23(a), which allows the Chief Disciplinary Counsel to determine if a lawyer is incapacitated or disabled and unable to practice law. McGaugh’s legal troubles stem from actions prior to his retirement. He had been suspended from the bench in March 2025, after the Supreme Court found he had acted incompetently. This incompetence was demonstrated by his failure to deliver judgments in a timely manner and his repeated failure to submit lists of cases under advisement for more than 90 days.
McGaugh had initially admitted to the allegations but requested a three-month suspension under disability. This request was denied by the court in 2025, which instead imposed a one-year suspension, despite the Commission on the Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges recommending a six-month suspension.
In February of this year, the court concurred with the commission’s finding that McGaugh should be retired from the bench, citing mental infirmity as the reason.
McGaugh was appointed as an associate circuit judge in October 2017 and was in the midst of his third term representing Carroll County in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Source: KMMO
