Home County: Howell
Term of Service on
the Supreme Court of Missouri: October 1989-March 2002
Judge John C. Holstein was born on January 10, 1945, in Springfield, Missouri.[i] He was raised in Springfield and graduated in 1963 from Parkview High School.[ii] He then attended Kansas State College (now Kansas State University) and Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield,[iii] where he received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1967.[iv] He received his law degree in 1970 from the University of Missouri-Columbia.[v]
Holstein was commissioned in 1969 in the United States Army, serving on active duty in the Army Reserve and National Guard.[vi] He retired in 1997, holding the rank of lieutenant colonel.[vii] He began his legal career at the West Plains, Missouri, law firm of Moore and Brill.[viii] While still in private practice, he served as the city attorney for Mountain View from 1972 to 1975[ix] and taught business law at Southwest Missouri State University from 1974 to 1975.[x]
In 1975, Holstein was appointed a probate and ex officio magistrate[xi] and, in 1976, was elected probate judge.[xii] Holstein was elected associate circuit court judge of Howell County in 1978[xiii] and then became the circuit judge of the 37th Judicial Circuit in 1982,[xiv] where he also served as a presiding judge.[xv] In April 1987, then-Governor John Ashcroft appointed Holstein to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District,[xvi] where Holstein served as chief judge from 1988 to 1989.[xvii]
Ashcroft appointed Holstein to the Supreme Court of Missouri in October 1989.[xviii] Holstein was retained by the voters of Missouri in the November 1990 election to a 12-year term.[xix] During Holstein’s service on the state’s highest court, he served as chief justice from July 1, 1995, through June 30, 1997.[xx] While on the Supreme Court of Missouri, he received a master of laws from the University of Virginia in 1995.[xxi] He wrote more than 300 majority opinions, and more than 1,000 opinions while serving on an appellate court.[xxii] Holstein retired from the Supreme Court of Missouri on March 1, 2002, to return to private practice.[xxiii]
Holstein served as a member of the judiciary’s circuit court budget committee,[xxiv] legislative steering committee and state judicial records committee.[xxv] He has chaired the Supreme Court of Missouri’s task force on abused and neglected Children,[xxvi] the Supreme Court of Missouri’s critical issues committee[xxvii] and the executive council of the Judicial Conference of Missouri.[xxviii] He served as chairperson on the Appellate Judicial Commission from 1995 to 1997.[xxix] Holstein is a member of The Missouri Bar and is a member of and board member for the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.[xxx] He was a founding member and chairperson of the Central States Judicial Council on Child Support Enforcement.[xxxi] He also has served on Legal Services of Southwest Missouri’s fundraising committee[xxxii] and The Missouri Bar’s public perception of the judiciary and foresight committees.[xxxiii]
Holstein received an outstanding alumni award in 1996 from Southwest Missouri State University in 1996.[xxxiv] He was presented the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Benjamin Cardozo Award[xxxv] and has been recognized in several litigation areas from the Best Lawyers in America from 2005 to 2016[xxxvi] and Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers in 2005 and 2008 to 2013.[xxxvii] In addition, Holstein has received: the Locke & Smith Defender of the Constitution Award in 2012;[xxxviii] the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association’s Distinguished Attorney Award in 2014;[xxxix] the Missouri Lawyers Weekly Award in 2015;[xl] and The Missouri Bar Foundation’s Spurgeon Smithson Award in 2015.[xli]
Holstein is an honorary member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and the order of the Coif.[xlii] He is also a member of The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals for arbitrators and mediators.[xliii] As of late 2018, Holstein maintained an alternative dispute resolution practice in Springfield.[xliv]
[i] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[ii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[iii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[iv] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed on November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[v] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed on November 30, 2018, available from: http://holsteinadr.com/, Paper copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[vi] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Julius Johnson, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1999-2000, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 2000), 196.
[vii] Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[viii] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[ix] Erin Suess, “Judge Holstein joins Shughart Thompson and Kilroy law firm,” St. Louis Daily Record (Saint Louis, Missouri), March 2, 2002.
[x] Erin Suess, “Judge Holstein joins Shughart Thompson and Kilroy law firm,” St. Louis Daily Record (Saint Louis, Missouri), March 2, 2002.
[xi] Erin Suess, “Judge Holstein joins Shughart Thompson and Kilroy law firm,” St. Louis Daily Record, (Saint Louis, Missouri), March 2, 2002.
[xii] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220.
[xiii] Carmel Carrillo, “Holstein elected chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court,” The St. Louis Countian (Saint Louis, Missouri), June 6, 1995.
[xiv] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, Missouri: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220.
[xv] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, Missouri: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220.
[xvi] The Associated Press, “Holstein to retire from high court,” Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), January 4, 2002.
[xvii] Carmel Carrillo, “Holstein elected chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court,” The St. Louis Countian (Saint Louis, Missouri), June 6, 1995.
[xviii] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, Missouri: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220.
[xix] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, Missouri: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220.
[xx] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, Missouri: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220. See also: The Associated Press, “Holstein to retire from high court,” Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), January 4, 2002
[xxi] Matt Blunt, Secretary of State, Rob Davis, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 2001-2002, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 2002), 220. See also: “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed on November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxii] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed on November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxiii] Aaron Deslatte, “State high court jurist, an Ozarker, to retire,” Springfield News-Leader (Springfield, Missouri), January 4, 2002.
[xxiv] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xxv] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xxvi] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xxvii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xxviii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996) 195.
[xxix] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxx] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxi] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxii] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxiii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xxxiv] Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxv] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxvi] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed on November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxvii] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxviii] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xxxix] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xl] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xli] “Hon. John C. Holstein (Ret.) Bio,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xlii] Rebecca McDowell Cook, Secretary of State, Steve N. Ahrens, ed., Official Manual: State of Missouri, 1995-1996, (Jefferson City, MO: Office of the Secretary of State, 1996), 195.
[xliii] “About the Academy,” The National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Website, accessed December 12, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
[xliv] “Curriculum Vitae, John C. Holstein,” Holsteinadr.com, accessed November 30, 2018. Copy of document filed at the Supreme Court of Missouri Law Library.
Biographical information authored by James Anderson, 2018, University of Missouri-Columbia.