Patricia S. Joyce
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Pat Joyce is the presiding circuit court judge for Division 4 of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Missouri. Joyce was first elected as circuit judge in 2006.[1][2]
She was re-elected to the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in 2014 for a term that expires on December 31, 2020.[3]
Elections
2014
See also: Missouri judicial elections, 2014
Joyce ran for re-election to the 19th Judicial Circuit Court.
Primary: She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 5, 2014.
General: She faced Brian Stumpe in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[3][4]
Spending
By mid-October, a Missouri political action committee (PAC) backed by the Republican State Leadership Committee had funneled $200,000 into the campaign of Republican candidate Brian Stumpe. Approximately $78,000 of those funds were used for a media buy featuring TV ads that promoted Stumpe and criticized the incumbent, Judge Patricia S. Joyce (D).[5][6]
Education
Joyce received her undergraduate degree from Southeast Missouri State University in 1976 and her J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law in 1979.[2]
Career
- 2002-2020: Judge, 19th Judicial Circuit Court
- 1994-2002: Associate judge, 19th Judicial Circuit Court
- 1983-1994: Assistant prosecuting attorney, Cole County
- 1980-1983: Staff attorney, Mid-Missouri Legal Services[2]
Awards and associations
- Member, St. Joseph Cathedral
- Member, Chief Justice Advisory Council
- Member, State Judicial Records Committee
- Member, Circuit Court Budget Committee
- Member, Missouri Association of Drug Court Professionals[2]
Noteworthy cases
Missouri Amendment 3 (2020)
On May 18, 2020, petition circulators for Clean Missouri, the campaign that sponsored Missouri Amendment 1 (2018), filed a lawsuit arguing that the ballot title of the proposed amendment was misleading because it did not mention the elimination of the nonpartisan demographer, which was the office established by Amendment 1 to conduct legislative redistricting in the state. Plaintiffs argued, "The General Assembly’s proposed summary statement fails to disclose that [the amendment] would eliminate the Nonpartisan State Demographer authorized to draw redistricting maps—the key mechanism voters approved to remedy partisan gerrymandering—in addition to falsely representing" that the measure would create independent commissions. The lawsuit asked the Cole County circuit judge to rewrite the ballot title or order the General Assembly to do so. Senator Dan Hegeman (R), the sponsor of the amendment, said that he was confident the ballot title would be held up in court.[7][8]
On August 17, 2020, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia S. Joyce ruled in favor of the petitioners and rewrote the ballot title originally drafted by the Missouri General Assembly. In her ruling, Joyce argued that "While SJR 38 proposes several other changes to Article Ill of the Constitution, all of them pale in comparison to the scope and magnitude of undoing a recent voter mandate to change Missouri's legislative redistricting rules. The 'central purpose' or 'primary objective' of SJR 38 is to effectively repeal Amendment 1. Accordingly, the summary statement must alert voters to that change in some fashion. Instead, the General Assembly's statement does not mention the change at all. It is insufficient, unfair, and must be rewritten." State officials requested an appeal in the Missouri Court of Appeals.[9]
See also
- News: Judge Joyce Rejects Legal Challenge Over Newly Drawn Missouri House Districts, February 14, 2012
- News: Judge Joyce rejects Voter ID Law proposal, March 29, 2012
External links
- Cole County Courts, "19th Judicial Circuit Court"
- Missouri Secretary of State, "Unofficial Candidate Filing List: Primary"
Footnotes
- ↑ courts.mo.gov, "19th Judicial Circuit," accessed September 2, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Missouri Secretary of State Website, "Missouri Circuit Court Judges," accessed September 2, 2013
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Missouri Secretary of State, "Unofficial Candidate Filing List: Circuit Judge - Circuit 19 Division 4," accessed April 3, 2014
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "UnOfficial Results," updated August 7, 2014, accessed August 7, 2014
- ↑ News Tribune, "Joyce targeted in TV ad by Washington-based GOP group," October 15, 2014
- ↑ Gavel Grab, "National Group Backs Local Court Candidate; JAS Voices Concern," October 15, 2014
- ↑ U.S. News, "Lawsuits Claims Missouri GOP Redistricting Measure Is Unfair," May 18, 2020
- ↑ Clean Missouri, "Citizens Sue to Block Politicians’ Dishonest Ballot Language on Dirty Missouri Amendment," May 18, 2020
- ↑ Cole County Circuit Court, Pippens v. Ashcroft, August 17, 2020
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri
State courts:
Missouri Supreme Court • Missouri Court of Appeals • Missouri Circuit Courts • Missouri Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Missouri • Missouri judicial elections • Judicial selection in Missouri
