Meet your candidates for judge

With the impending retirement of R. David Ray from Howell County’s Associate Circuit bench, four men have entered the race to be the next judge, all Republicans. The next associate circuit judge will be decided in the August primary election because there is no Democratic challenger. The winner will ascend to the bench in January 2027. 

 

The four candidates are, in alphabetical order, Lyndell Beard, Larry Burton, Heath Hardman, and Marty Simpson, all practicing attorneys in Howell County.

 

The candidates will debate reader-submitted questions at the Exhibit Hall of the West Plains Civic Center on July 22. To submit a question, email editor@howellcountynews.com, call 417-252-2123, or stop by 110 West Main in Willow Springs. 

 

 

Beard

Beard is in independent practice via Beard Law Firm, LLC, where he handles real estate, business and tax matters, probate, family, and other litigation. Originally from Arkansas, he said during a June 25 candidate event that he chose Howell County as his home and raised his children here.  

 

“There’s a real word, practical side when it comes to being a judge,” noting his community involvement, including serving on the West Vue board and Economic Development, and the role he played bringing K-LOVE the radio station. 

 

Innovative thinking is required, he said, commenting, “Our jail is full,” and mentioned the expected future ballot measure that may address it with a new facility. 

 

“People need to pay their dues, but not everyone needs to go to jail,” Beard said, suggesting an idea for a work-release program focused on caring for county cemeteries.

 

 

Burton

Burton has been an attorney in Mountain View for ten years. He moved to Birch Tree from St. Louis as a child and has resided in Mountain View for 19 years. His first career was in law enforcement, serving both Mountain View Police Department and the Howell County SWAT team. An injury forced a career change, he said on June 25. 

 

These days, his law practice is mostly family law and criminal cases. Burton says, he has “tried everything to a judge or to a jury,” and is in a court room every day.

 

Burton reports that he is in a courtroom nearly every day and disapproves of the amount of lying he sees in courtrooms. 

 

“The courtroom is a place to find truth, and that is sorely lacking,” Burton said. He hopes to bring that back as judge. 

 

 

Hardman

With roots in Howell County, Hardman now resides near West Plains. His parents are from Willow Springs but joined the U.S. Army after high school, and he graduated from high school in Florida.  Hardman is a United States Marine Corps veteran, who served combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. After the miliary, he went to law school and was first licensed to practice in New York in 2015, then in Missouri in 2017. Today, Hardman is an assistant prosecuting attorney for Howell County, pursuing criminal cases against the accused on behalf of the state. He is the discipleship pastor at Genesis Church in West Plains. 

 

The right experience for this job matters more than overall experience, Hardman said on June 25, pointing out that 64% of the cases heard in the associate division in 2024 were criminal or traffic matters, and only 11% probate. He believes his work on criminal cases at all levels of Missouri courts makes him the right candidate. 

 

 

Simpson

Simpson practices via Simpson Elder and Estate Law, and that has been his focus for nine years. A resident of West Plains, Simpson says is “from the Ozarks for the Ozarks.” He attended law school at age 35 in Illinois, returning to West Plains to raise children, Simpson said on June 25.

 

His practice handles mostly estate planning, but also does family law and criminal matters, which he described as “exactly the kind of stuff Judge Ray is hearing.”

 

Simpson serves on the boards of four nonprofits: Christos House, Ozarks Independent Living, the Community Foundation of West Plains, and Ozark Sheltered Industries.

 

His work with the nonprofits, “When someone would stand before me as a judge, I would have a perspective on their perspective,” which would allow him to apply the law in a way that’s, “truly best for everyone involved."