JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- A local lawmaker's proposal to have a Kirksville judge removed from office makes a little more progress.

According to the Missouri House of Representatives website, House Resolution 333, sponsored by State Representative Zachary Wyatt, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

In the resolution, Wyatt calls for Circuit Judge Russell Steele of Kirksville to be impeached based on allegations of possible misconduct, corruption in office and willful neglect of duty.    

In a statement issued earlier, Steele wrote, "This is an unprecedented and extraordinary political attack on a member of the judiciary and ignores the (well-established) process that is in place to consider complaints against judges."

Wyatt's said in an earlier statement defending his decision to file the Resolution 333, "This is not an issue of politics; it is an issue of right and wrong. My constituents were concerned, and brought to my attention...that we have a judge in my district that is not upholding the same law that his position allows him to use to sentence others."

It is now up to the House Judiciary Committee to decide how to proceed from here.