S. Margene Burnett was appointed Deputy Commissioner -- Probate Division in 2003 by the judges of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Jackson County.

Commissioner Burnett is a life-long Kansas City area resident. She has practiced law in Jackson County since 1987. Burnett started her career as an associate with Morris & Larson and later Hillix, Brewer, Hoffhaus, Whittaker & Wright. In 1995, Burnett began her own practice. Immediately prior to her appointment, Commissioner Burnett served as Respondent's Counsel for the mentally ill and adults who are alleged to be incompetent and incapacitated. Commissioner Burnett is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. She earned her Bachelors degrees in magazine journalism and political science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Honors:

• Commissioner S. Margene Burnett Elected President of the Board of Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges (2011)
• Elected as Vice President of the Board of the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges in April, 2010. (2010)
• Re-elected as a member of the Board of the Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges in April, 2009. (2009)