The Judicial Legacy Project is a program conceived by the Honorable Nicole Colbert-Botchway, a Law Library Association of St. Louis Board member, that involves interviewing retired judges and jurists of our 22nd Judicial Circuit. Also included are remembrance videos about judges in our region who are no longer with us. The Law Library website currently hosts 33 videos capturing the remembrances and insights of judges in the 22nd Judicial Circuit and other Missouri courts. These videos can be viewed at https://llastl.org/judicial-legacy-project.
It became clear that the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit was home to many “trailblazing” jurists. For that reason, the Law Library Association decided to create an in-person exhibit highlighting a number of these individuals. Supported by a grant from the St. Louis Bar Foundation, the exhibit highlights eight of the jurists who had previously been interviewed for the Library’s Judicial Legacy Project.
Many of the judges profiled were among the first women and members of the African American community to serve in this role. Another judge was the first legally blind justice on the Missouri Supreme Court. The judges highlighted in the exhibit are Evelyn Baker, Clyde Cahill, Anne-Marie Clarke, Mary Kay Hoff, Margaret Neill, Booker Shaw, Richard Teitelman, and Lisa Van Amburg.
The in-person exhibit panels are inspiring to view. It is interesting to read about what motivated these trailblazers to become lawyers and then judges. Many of the judges talk of their judicial philosophy, the qualities that make a good judge, and reflect on the importance of the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.
Come by and read about the judges profiled in the exhibit. The exhibit is here until at least April 30, 2026. It is free and open to the public during normal business hours, M-F 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.