Supreme Court of Missouri

Dates of judicial service

• Appointed to the Supreme Court in April 2017
• Retained in office at the November 2018 general election for a 12-year term expiring December 31, 2030
• Appointed circuit judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County) in February 2008; retained in November 2010 and November 2016

Education

• Bachelor of arts in political science, William Jewell College, 1992
  • Graduated magna cum laude
  • Earned varsity letter in football
• Juris doctor, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 1996
  • Case note editor and member, Missouri Law Review
  • President, treasurer and first-year representative, Student Bar Association
  • Lieutenant governor, American Bar Association
  • Student Law Clerk for the Honorable Elwood Thomas, Supreme Court of Missouri

Professional employment prior to judicial service

• United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri
• Executive Assistant United States attorney, 2007 to 2008
• Chief, general crimes unit, 2006 to 2007
• Deputy Chief, general crimes unit, 2005 to 2006
• Assistant United States Attorney, 2001 to 2005
• Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Platte County Prosecutor’s Office, 1997 to 2001
• Lathrop & Gage LC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Associate, 1996 to 1997
• Summer associate, 1995 (firm then called Gage & Tucker)
• Constituent services representative, Office of United States Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond, Jefferson City, Missouri 1992 to 1993
• Juvenile detention officer, Clay County juvenile detention facility, Liberty, Missouri 1992

Professional memberships and activities

• Member, Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission
• Former member, Missouri Coordinating Commission on Judicial Education
• Former member, Trial Judge Education Committee
• Judicial college faculty, 2011, 2015 through 2017
• New judge orientation faculty, 2017
• Former member, Supreme Court of Missouri Committee on Procedure in Criminal Cases
• Former member, Supreme Court of Missouri Committee on Access to Family Courts
• Member, The Missouri Bar, 1996 to present
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
• Member, 2007 to present
• Former Lead master, Ross T. Roberts Trial Academy, 2009 to 2017
• Member, Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City, 2007 to present
• Board member, Catholic Lawyers Guild of Kansas City, 2008 to present

Community, civic and charitable activities

• Member, Lawyers Encouraging Academic Performance (LEAP), Kansas City
• Visitation Catholic Church, Kansas City, Missouri
• Eucharistic minister
• Member, faith formation committee
• Volunteer adult leader, youth confirmation class
• Coach, seventh- and eighth-grade basketball and football teams

Awards and honors

• President’s Award, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, 2014
• Judge of the Year, Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City, 2009
• Award for Valor – Certificate of Commendation, KMBC-TV and the Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, 2007
• Lon O. Hocker Award for trial advocacy, Missouri Bar Foundation, 2006
• Certificate of appreciation, Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, 2005
• Certificate of appreciation, United States Drug Enforcement Administration, 2004

Additional information

• Born and raised in Springfield, Missouri
• He and his wife Beth live in Kansas City