Supreme Court of Missouri
Dates of Judicial Service:
- Appointed in May 2021 to the Supreme Court
- Retained by voters at the November 2022 general election for a 12-year term ending December 31, 2034
- Appointed in
January 2019 to the Missouri
Court of Appeals, Eastern District
- Retained by voters at the November 2020 general election
- Appointed September 11, 2008, as circuit judge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit (St. Louis city)
- Retained by voters at the November 2010 and November 2016 general elections
- Initially assigned, from September through December 2008, to a general trial division
- Assigned January 2009 through December 2010 to the family court, presiding over contested divorces and motions to modify
- Served January 2011 through December 2015 in a general trial division
- Selected in January 2016 to serve as administrative judge of the family court, overseeing all facets of the court's operations both in its juvenile and domestic divisions
- In September 2018, unanimously elected by her peers to serve as the 22nd circuit's assistant presiding judge from January 2019 through December 2020
- Began serving in January 2021 as the circuit's presiding judge before being appointed to the appeals court
- Appointed December 27, 2002, as a family court commissioner, for the 22nd Judicial Circuit (St. Louis city), family court – juvenile division
Education:
- Juris doctorate, 1991, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
- Bachelor of arts, political science and sociology, 1988, Douglass College–Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Prior Employment:
- Staff attorney, October 1996 to December 2002, St. Louis County family court; handled juvenile delinquency cases, care and protection cases, and termination of parental rights matters
- Assistant prosecuting attorney, fall 1995 to 1996, St. Louis County prosecuting attorney's office
- Assistant public defender, 1992 to 1995, St. Louis County public defender's office; assigned primarily to cases in the family court – juvenile division.
Professional memberships and activities:
- Member, The Missouri Bar
- Member, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL)
- Frequent presenter to school groups and organizations interested in juvenile laws, juvenile justice, and the courts and legal system in general
Awards and honors:
- Theodore McMillian Service Award – Black Law Students Association, Saint Louis University School of Law
- Women's Justice Award for Public Service – Missouri Lawyers Media, 2019
- Clarence Darrow Award – Public Interest Group, Saint Louis University School of Law, 2008
Additional information:
- Born and raised in the city of St. Louis
- Graduated from Rosati-Kain High School in St. Louis
Supreme Court - Supreme Court Judges