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When the Honorable Judge Patricia Breckenridge puts on her black robe, she is no longer “Patty from Nevada, Mo.,” she says, her duty is to uphold the rule of law.
Breckenridge, former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, brought her courtroom attire on Monday as she provided government students an overview of the judicial branch.
She was accompanied by attorney Scott Robbins from Kennedy, Robbins, Yarbro & Henson, who serves as vice-president of the Missouri Bar Association – setting the stage to become the organization’s first president ever to represent Poplar Bluff.
“The supreme law, the law that controls everything, is the Constitution,” Breckenridge told the junior class, which was divided among two sessions in the Poplar Bluff High School cafeteria. “Laws are faithful to the Constitution.”
Every year for Constitution Day, the Missouri Bar provides educators with an attorney to speak about the significance of the governmental framework. When U.S. government instructor Dr. Stephanie Lovette reached out to Robbins, he took the opportunity to arrange for students to learn about the role of the judge within the Missouri judicial system.
Part of Robbins’ mission on behalf of the Missouri Bar is to inform the public where to find out who the judges are, which he shared is available at yourmissourijudges.org. "A lot of people don't know anything about the judges who appear on the ballot," he mentioned prior.
Robbins discussed the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan, the focus of a special committee he co-chaired over the past year. The Missouri Plan, adopted into the state constitution in 1940, was designed to establish a meritocracy for the election of judges in the least political way. "The voters have the final say," Robbins emphasized.
When a judicial position becomes vacant, any of Missouri's approximately 32,000 licensed, practicing attorneys and judges may apply, he explained. The Appellate Judicial Commission submits the top three applicants to the governor for final selection within 60 days. After 12 months on the bench, the appointed judge is placed on the ballot for a retention election.
A practitioner of 42 years, Breckenridge has served at every level a judge can in the state, including a 16-year tenure concluding in 2023 on the Supreme Court of Missouri. She is among only seven female justices in history to serve on the state's highest appellate court, which is presently composed of a majority of women. She remains active today as a senior judge in special cases.
“A judge takes an oath to follow the law,” Breckenridge stated. “That is important because the law is what guides our country. The law gives us the freedoms we enjoy.”
Breckenridge used a personal anecdote about how she is “not a fan of billboards” as a private citizen, she prefers seeing landscape views over “being told how to think,” yet as a judge, she said, she has ruled in favor of signs along the interstate. The presentation of the attorneys at law detailed a high-profile case known as Texas v. Johnson to further illustrate the responsibility.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Gregory Johnson's conviction for desecrating an American flag at the Republican National Convention in Dallas on a narrow 5-to-4 decision in 1989. According to the ruling, Johnson’s protest was protected under the First Amendment because a precedent established that freedom of speech may encompass acts of expression.
"If the judges were divided, you can imagine how the citizens across the country felt," Breckenridge remarked. While a legislator is expected to make decisions based on the will of the majority or what s/he deems best, “a judge must be accountable to the law” irrespective of beliefs.
During a workshop sponsored by the American Bar and Federal Judicial Center over the summer in Washington, D.C., Lovette had an opportunity to sit in the gallery of the U.S. Supreme Court, she recalled, where she was inspired to incorporate more guests into her classroom to share such real-world experiences. Her faculty colleagues in the department include Kim Clark and Gail Rosmarin.
Above: The Hon. Judge Patricia Breckenridge puts on her judicial robe as she shares with students the most common alibi heard in court: “I was home with my mother.”
Below: Local attorney Scott Robbins maintains his law practice of 29 years while taking on additional responsibilities of the Missouri Bar Association.
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