Home County: St. Louis
Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: May 1978-June 1979
Judge Joseph Simeone was born October 8, 1921, Quincy, Illinois.[i] He was raised in the same rural community, along the Mississippi River, where he was born.[ii] Simeone attended Quincy College Academy for his high school education, and Quincy College for two years of his higher education.[iii] Simeone moved to St. Louis and, in 1944, entered law school at Washington University School of Law.[iv] He earned his law degree in 1946 from Washington University School of Law and was an honorary member of the Order of the Coif.[v] In 1946, he was admitted to the bar in Illinois and Missouri.[vi] In 1953, Simeone received a bachelor’s of science degree from Saint Louis University.[vii] He then received a master of laws degree in 1954 and a doctor of juridical science in 1962 from University of Michigan School of Law.[viii]
Simeone taught at Quincy College and then, in 1947, began a professorship at Saint Louis University School of Law.[ix] He taught at Saint Louis University School of Law until 1972.[x] Simeone was also an assistant circuit attorney in St. Louis during the summer of 1953 and 1961; an assistant legal officer in the United States Corps of Engineers during the summer of 1954; and an associate with the law firm of Leahy & Leahy from 1946 to 1947.”[xi] Simeone was a special assistant to the judiciary committee with the state's house of representatives in 1969 and the chairman of The Missouri Bar’s special committee on criminal law and procedure from 1964 to 1970.[xii]
On January 1, 1972, Simeone was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, St. Louis District, by Governor Warren Hearnes.[xiii] Judge Simeone was chief judge of that court from 1977 until 1978.[xiv] Judge Simeone was retained in the 1974 general election for a 12- year term set to conclude December 31, 1986.[xv]
On May 11, 1978, Governor Joseph Teasdale appointed Judge Simeone to the Supreme Court of Missouri.[xvi] He served with the Supreme Court of Missouri until June 30, 1979.[xvii] Simeone returned to teach at Saint Louis University School of Law and was a professor emeritus there until his death.[xviii] Additionally, Simeone returned to the Missouri Court of Appeals, as a senior judge, from 1986 until 1990.[xix] From 1990 to 2007, Simeone was an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration.[xx]
Judge Simeone died May 1, 2015, at the age of 93.[xxi]
[i] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[ii] Gene Hoenes, “Day in court special for judge,” Hannibal Courier-Post, Wednesday, December 3, 1986.
[iii] Joseph J. Simeone, “A Few Memories on Reaching the 65th Wedding Anniversary,” November 26, 2007, 2.
[iv] “Simeone: Courts face critical time,” Jefferson City Post Tribune, May 12, 1978.
[v] Joseph J. Simeone, A Few Memories on Reaching the 65th Wedding Anniversary,” November 26, 2007, 2. See also; Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri 1975-1976 (Von Hoffmann Press, Jefferson City, MO: 1976), 214.
[vi] “Obituary for Joseph Simeone,” Bopp Chapel Website, accessed on December 14, 2017.
[vii] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[viii] “Obituary for Joseph Simeone,” Bopp Chapel Website, accessed on December 14, 2017.
[ix] Joseph J. Simeone, “A Few Memories on Reaching the 65th Wedding Anniversary,” November 26, 2007, 2. See also; Joseph J. Simeone, “Reflections on Fifty Years of Teaching Civil Procedure,” Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Winter 2003) 87.
[x] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[xi] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[xii] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[xiii] “Named To Missouri Supreme Court,” Kirksville Express & News, May 11, 1978. See also; Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffman Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[xiv] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202. See also; Gene Hoenes, “Day in court special for judge,” Hannibal Courier-Post, Wednesday, December 3, 1986.
[xv] Kenneth M. Johnson, ed., James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Official Manual State of Missouri, 1977-1978 (Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., Jefferson City, MO: 1978), 202.
[xvi] Dana L. Spitzer, “Simeone Termed Outstanding Choice for Post,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 12, 1978.
[xvii] Judge Joseph J. Simeone to Governor Joseph P. Teasdale, letter, dated May 16, 1979.
[xviii] “Obituary for Joseph Simeone,” Bopp Chapel Website, accessed on December 14, 2017.
[xix] Will Connaghan, “Simeone returns to appellate court,” St. Louis Daily Record, Tuesday, December 23, 1986. See also; “Obituary for Joseph Simeone,” Bopp Chapel Website, accessed on December 14, 2017.
[xx] Michael D. Sorkin, “Judge Joseph Simeone helped bring Missouri’s judiciary into the modern age,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Thursday, May 7, 2015, accessed on December 14, 2017.
[xxi] Michael D. Sorkin, “Obituaries: Judge Joseph Simeone helped bring Missouri’s judiciary into the modern age,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, May 7, 2015, accessed August 30, 2017.
Biographical information authored by Alexander Galvin, 2017, University of Missouri-Columbia.