Missouri judge who wore an Elvis wig and often played his music in court agrees to step down

This undated photo provided by the St. Charles Circuit County Court shows Circuit Judge Matthew Thornhill. (St. Charles Circuit County Court via AP)

A Missouri judge who wore an Elvis Presley wig in his courtroom and played the singer’s music from his phone during court proceedings has agreed to a deal that would cut his career on the bench short.

Judge Matthew Thornhill in suburban St. Louis faces a six-month unpaid suspension under the deal he reached with a state board to avoid a disciplinary hearing. After the suspension, he would serve 18 more months on the bench before resigning from the St. Charles County Circuit Court.

The agreement, reached last month, is pending before the Missouri Supreme Court, spokeswoman Beth Riggert said Friday. The court agreed Thursday to accept 35 letters in support of Thornhill’s character.

Thornhill wrote that he intended “to add levity at times when I thought it would help relax litigants.” But he added: “I now recognize that this could affect the integrity and solemnity of the proceedings.”

Online court records don’t indicate who filed the complaint that triggered the discipline. His attorney, Neil Bruntrager, didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press on Friday.

While the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline also faulted Thornhill for talking about politics from the bench, it highlighted his affinity for the “ King of Rock ‘n’ Roll ” first. The court file is sprinkled with photos of Thornhill on the bench or posing with staff in a plastic Elvis wig and sunglasses.

According to the commission, Thornhill routinely wore the wig in the courtroom around Halloween and would offer people options on how they wanted to be sworn in before testifying, including an option where he played Elvis’ music from his phone. Thornhill also sometimes played the songs while entering the courtroom, court records show.

The board also said Thornhill sometimes mentioned Elvis lyrics or the singer’s date of birth or death during court, even though it wasn’t relevant.

All the Elvis references violated rules requiring a judge to maintain “order and decorum” and “promote confidence in the integrity of the judiciary,” the commission found, without saying how long the behaviour had been going on.

Thornhill is the longest-serving judge in St. Charles County and a former assistant prosecutor there, according to a biography posted on the court website. He was elected an associate circuit judge in 2006 and a circuit judge in 2024. His primary assignment is family court.

In 2008, he was reprimand and fined US$750. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the fine stemmed from him reducing the charges against a woman he was prosecuting after she offered to give him a baseball signed by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Thornhill denied taking the baseball, which was a fake.

In the latest case, Thornhill was also cited for mentioning his political affiliation and preferred election candidates during court business. At times, he commented on where his “Thornhill for Judge” campaign signs were posted or remarked that litigants or attorneys lived in “Thornhill for Judge Country,” court documents said.

Once he asked someone appearing in court if the labour union the person worked for had “warmed up to Thornhill for judge,” court records show.

Thornhill wrote that, although the references to campaign signs were made in informal conversations, they were still a mistake. “Never did they impact a decision,” he wrote.

He was also criticized for offering a character letter in an adoption case, which the commission deemed an abuse of his position. Thornhill agreed it was “a mistake and improper.”

Heather Hollingsworth, The Associated Press