Purpose

The Spirit of Justice Award recognizes lawyers, non-lawyers and programs that have demonstrated accomplishment, leadership and integrity in fostering and maintaining the rule of law, and in facilitating and promoting improvement of the administration of justice.

The individual, organization or program must meet one or more of the following to qualify:

• Demonstrated accomplishment, leadership and integrity in fostering and maintaining the rule of law;
• Facilitates and promotes improvement of the administration of justice;
• Exemplifies fairness and promotes the equitable treatment of individuals within a society or legal system;
• Demonstrates a strong commitment to justice, human rights and equality, with a proven track record of impactful work; or
• Upholds ethical and legal standards, shows innovation, engages with communities, and collaborates with other community leaders.

 

2024

• Beth & Darin Boggs
• Gabe Gore
• Lynne M. Jackson
• Veterans Community Project

2022

• Edward Jones — Courageous Conversations Program
• Left Bank Books Foundation — Literacy & Justice Project
• Greg Linhares, Clerk of Court, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• Dana McWay, Clerk of Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• Zoe Lyle Linza, Retired BAMSL Executive Director

2021

• Cheryl Campbell
• Alex Garza, M.D.
• Founding members of Motion for Kids
• St. Joseph Housing Initative

2019

• Kathryn Banks, Washington University School of Law, Children's Rights Clinic
• Opal Jones, DOORWAYS
• Tony Messenger, St. Louis Post Dispatch
• Jim Moran, St. Louis University Public Safety Director
• Otis Williams, St. Louis Development Corporation

 

2018

• John Ammann, Saint Louis University School of Law
• John Hessel, Lewis Rice LLC
• Issac Bruce Foundation
• Hon. Stephen Limbaugh Sr., Armstrong Teasdale
• Katie Meyer, Washington University School of Law
• Chris Nagus, KMOV Channel 4

2017

• Paula Finlay, AT&T
• Marc Goldstein, Stinson Leonard Street
• Sue Greenberg, Volunteers Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts
• Marie Kenyon, Archdiocese of St. Louis
• Prof. Kimberly Norwood, Washington University

2016

• Hannah Sullivan, Catholic Charities
• Ted Gianaris, Simmons Hanly Conroy
• Emerson
• St. Louis Internship Program

 

 

2015

Dr. Patricia Wolff

Patricia B. Wolff, MD is the Founder and Executive Director of Meds & Food for Kids (MFK), a social benefit non-profit enterprise dedicated to preventing and treating malnutrition in Haiti. MFK produces the global gold-standard Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), called Medika Mamba, which translates to “peanut butter medicine” in Haitian Creole. MFK works exclusively in Haiti, employing Haitians and when possible, using locally-sourced raw materials. Dr. Wolff introduced this revolutionary treatment into Haiti in 2003; since then MFK’s Medika Mamba has saved the lives of over 155,000 children. By locating production in Haiti, MFK also addresses some of the root causes of malnutrition – unemployment and poverty – by creating jobs, mentoring professionals and sponsoring long-term agricultural education and development. MFK also produces other products for prenatal supplementation (Mamba Djanm) and school feeding (Vita Mamba).

Dr. Wolff received her B.A. and M.D. degrees at the University of Minnesota, and upon graduation worked for the Indian Health Service in South Dakota. After a residency at Washington University School of Medicine, she worked as a pediatrician in the St. Louis area for 35 years. In 1996, she became President of Forest Park Pediatrics, P.C., where she worked until the summer of 2011, when she resigned to focus completely on Meds & Food for Kids. She is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, and has been listed in the U.S. News & World Report of Best Doctors every year since 2002. As a volunteer Executive Director of Meds & Food for Kids, she divides her time equally between St. Louis, MO and Haiti.

William Ray Price Jr.

 

Ray Price practiced law in Kansas City for 14 years before his appointment to the Missouri Supreme Court in 1992. While in Kansas City, Ray served as president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and as a director of the Truman Medical Center. While on the Court, Ray served two terms as Chief Justice and championed the development of drug courts and criminal sentencing reform in Missouri. He served as president of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, vice-president of the National Conference of Chief Justices, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Searle Civil Justice Institute, and as a director of the Advanced Science & Technology Adjudication Resource Center. Ray returned to the practice of law in 2012, joining Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis, and is presently engaged in business litigation, mediation, and arbitration. He has been active in BAMSL and the Theodore McMillian Inns of Court.

Ray has been awarded the BAMSL Champion of Justice award; the American Judges Association Richard Holmes award; the American Judicature Society Herbert Harley award; the Missouri Bar Spurgeon Smithson and Theodore McMillian Judicial Excellence awards; and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals Stanley Goldstein award.

Ray, and his wife Susan have two children, Emily and Joe, and three granddaughters, Ella, Ava, and Harper Rose.

Criminal Justice Ministry

Since 1979, Criminal Justice Ministry (CJM) has served prisoners in Missouri prisons and local jails as well as persons returning to the St. Louis area. Formerly sponsored by the Society of St. Vincent dePaul, CJM has become an independent non-profit organization affiliated with the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

CJM’s mission is to establish human connection in high-tech prisons, where prisoners have little human connection. CJM provides visits, classes, tutoring, services, programs and retreat days to prisoners in 4 prisons and 10 jails in Eastern Missouri.

CJM also provides support to individuals who are reentering the St. Louis area after being imprisoned, through short and long-term help including “Release to Rent” housing and “welcome kits.”

Additionally, CJM works to decrease obstacles for law-abiding ex-prisoners through collaboration with city and state groups to address inequities in the law.

Brendan Roediger

Brendan Roediger is an Associate Professor at St. Louis University School of Law and serves as a supervisor in the Civil Litigation Clinic, focusing on court-reform, racial justice and representation of low-income individuals in St. Louis.

Brendan and his team of clinical students have been active in litigation and advocacy focused on the elimination of racial profiling, revenue-based policing and unconstitutional court practices in Ferguson and other municipal courts throughout the St. Louis region. His work on these issues has been featured in national media sources such as the New York Times, ABC, MSNBC and National Public Radio. He is currently a member of the Ferguson Commission Working Group on Municipal Courts and has provided policy guidance to state and federal legislators concerning the rights of protesters, law enforcement misconduct and unconstitutional practices in local courts.

Sgt. John Wall

John was born and raised in North St. Louis County. John graduated from Ritenour High School in 1982. In 1984, John enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Security Police Officer. John was stationed in Bossier City, Louisiana and Kunsan, Republic of Korea.

In 1988, John was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force. John returned to St. Louis and began his law enforcement career with the University City Police Department in 1989.

During the civil unrest in Ferguson and the St. Louis community in 2014, John was present each day on the front lines during protests and riots. In the midst of high tension and emotions, John took an active role in keeping his fellow officers calm while they protected the community.

John lives in St. Louis County with his wife and teenage daughter.

Debbie Weaver

Deborah Weaver graduated from Southeast Missouri State with a degree in General Undergraduate Studies and holds a degree in Court Reporting from Brown’s Business College.

In 1980, Debbie began working as a general freelance court reporter with Taylor & Associates Court Reporters.

Currently, Debbie is the President of Midwest Litigation Services, Midwest Trial Services and Aequitas Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Debbie has been honored by the St. Louis Business Journal on three separate occasions: Most Influential Business Woman (August 2001), Number 13 of St. Louis’ Largest Women-Owned Businesses (2010) and Hero of the Planet (2011).

In 2008, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis gave Debbie the Community Service Award.

Molly Higgins

Molly Higgins is the Vice President of Corporate Communications/Civic Affairs for the St. Louis Rams. In her role, Molly oversees the team’s community outreach efforts to bring together the players, cheerleaders, coaches and staff to help positively impact the lives of children and families in the bi-state area and create lasting memories.

Prior to joining the Rams, Molly worked in public relations for Unigraphics Solutions, a NYSE-listed global computer software company.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in public relations and a minor in marketing, Molly is also a graduate of the Coro Women in Leadership program and completed the NFL Program for Managers at Stanford University.

Molly was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 under 30 list in 2006. The annual award honors 30 St. Louis-area business leaders under the age of 30. In 2014, Molly was named one of St. Louis’ “Most Influential Business Women” by the St. Louis Business Journal.

 

 

2014

Erwin O. Switzer

Erwin O. Switzer, a Principal with Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., has served enthusiastically on many boards over the years as a way to effect positive change in the community. He has served on the St. Louis Housing Authority Board, where he helped restore out of troubled status; the St. Louis Library Board where he helped guide major branch renovations including the master renovation of the Central Library downtown and improved the affirmative action policy for the Library; as a member of the Board of Directors of Paraquad, where his interest in improving access for the disabled began and led to how absentee ballots of disabled voters were more accurately counted; and on the Board of Commissioners for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, where he oversaw the transition from state to local control and hired the current police chief.

In addition, earlier in his career, he involved himself in cases as an Assistant Attorney General for then-Attorney General Jay Nixon to stop fraudulent credit card charges made to consumers, retrieving monies paid by the elderly to unscrupulous home improvement contractors, and promoting accessibility for the disabled in housing.

Whether his role was as a pro bono attorney, a member of the Attorney General’s office, on the board of a government or private organization, or as a member of his law firm, Switzer has continually identified areas of legal justice that he believed should be met and taken on personal responsibility to make that happen. He is deeply vested in many St. Louis institutions and his own particular neighborhood as a good citizen.

Lt. Shawn Dace

Lt. Shawn Dace, as the Commander of the Public Housing Unit of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, works each day to set an example not only for the public he serves as a police officer, but as a father of three (two boys and a girl). He believes it’s so much easier to be nice than to “go out of your way” to be mean. For many years now, Dace has helped provide security at BAMSL’s annual Motion for Kids holiday party that gives children whose family has been impacted by the criminal justice system a special day of fun in the Edward Jones Dome with St. Louis Rams players and cheerleaders and gifts to take home. At these parties, it is not unusual to see the Lieutenant engaging with the children, giving hugs, striking up conversations, and letting them know that the police are their friends too. He extends this off-duty work with his participation in the Police Athletic League (PAL) and the St. Louis Nites Adult Basketball League (in conjunction with Parks and Recreation) to provide athletic and role model mentoring to inner city youth. He sees his job as one to not only enforce the law, but also to be a positive example and a goodwill ambassador to everyone he encounters.

His command regularly provides monthly community service programs in the Public Housing Units with workshops on domestic abuse, how to prevent burglaries and other crimes; all while getting to know the residents, building relationships and their trust. Over coffee or a soft drink, his officers get to know those they serve better.

Lt. Dace has received numerous Chief’s Letters of Commendation and Captain’s Letters of Commendation, has been the District Five Officer of the Year, received the 2007 Heritage House Award for work with children of divorced or separated parents, and the St. Louis Public Schools Community Education Centers Award for two years. He has worked as a District Five Officer, an Area 2 Narcotics Enforcement Detective, a Central Patrol Detective, a Mobile Reserve Officer, a SWAT Team Sniper/Officer, and a North Patrol Gun and Gang Supervisor (Sergeant) in addition to his current assignment as the Commander of the Housing Authority Unit.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed

Senator Jamilah Nasheed, Missouri District 5, believes affordable housing is a key ingredient to building strong communities. She knows that when vacant houses exist that crime cannot be very far behind. So she became an enthusiastic supporter of SB731, a bill recently passed into law in Missouri that gives the City of St. Louis’ Counselor’s Office Problem Properties Unit and BAMSL’s Volunteer Lawyers for City Neighborhoods a faster and more effective way to go after nuisance properties and absentee landlords with unmaintained buildings. She has also worked with Mayor Slay to demolish some derelict buildings that had attracted crime and used low income housing tax credits to attract new construction in several neighborhoods in her district.

Nasheed is a strong advocate for better education as well, saying that “social promotions” have to end and high quality and early education opportunities have to take their place – for all children. On the education front, she has worked to make Missouri’s Department of Education’s A+ Scholarships available to students in unaccredited school districts so as not to further handicap those that work hard and want to finish school. She set up “Fresh Start,” a program that encourages school dropouts to return to school and graduate. That program now claims several hundred graduates each year who would not have finished their high school educations otherwise.

She is currently working with the Mayor’s office on an initiative called “Ban the Box” that will remove the box on many employment applications, first with government jobs, that identifies applicants as having a prior criminal background. This, she says, exacerbates the situation by giving those who have served their time and paid their debt to society. By removing “the box” that identifies them as having served time, the door for legitimate employment would be opened and removes the temptation to return to crime as a last resort. She believes this program would be a great advance towards justice for St. Louis City citizens.

Rep. Michael Colona

Representative Michael Colona was instrumental, along with Senator Nasheed, in moving SB731 through the Missouri House and helped to save it in this year’s veto override session. His 80th Missouri District includes a large part of South St. Louis and, as a lawyer who has practiced in the city housing court for eight years, has also dealt with many of the housing issues that SB731 will work to solve. Colona gets involved personally in his district, often walking door to door, to meet constituents and encourage them to become active in neighborhood organizations and other programs designed to help them maintain their owner-occupied homes. He also works to discourage absentee landlords from blighting their properties that can often negatively impact entire neighborhoods.

While making an effort to cultivate housing in his district, he has also focused on helping small businesses in his district. He says most businesses are not aware of the many tax incentive programs available to them to help them grow and be more profitable. He knows that as local businesses grow, it builds employment opportunities for his constituents – and that combination can create stronger, more vibrant neighborhoods. Colona is also interested in Medicaid expansion, a very misunderstood situation that will help many families in both rural and urban Missouri. And seeks to pass the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act. He believes that rural and urban Missouri voters share many of the same challenges, but urban centers like St. Louis and Kansas City can do more to help themselves by getting out and voting in every election.

Maurice B. Graham

Maurice B. Graham is a Partner at Gray Ritter & Graham PC. He is a staunch supporter of equal justice under the law, a fundraiser for legal services for the poor, and a long-time provider of pro bono legal services.
“Marcy,” as he likes to be called, is a Past-President of the Saint Louis Bar Foundation and the Missouri Bar Association. As Bar Foundation president he ushered the group to greater giving and support in our community through community service projects, grants and scholarships.

He has practiced law for over 50 years and from the start he has been concerned about the needs of others and the importance of the legal profession to meet those needs – especially for the poor and working poor. He recognizes the lack of equality in our society today as a “terrible thing.” He has been an energetic advocate of fairness, saying that inequality is inconsistent with everything our country was founded upon; and that fairness for everyone benefits everyone in our society and all communities. And, he cites the inscription over the U.S. Supreme Court building, “Equal Justice Under the Law” as a personal guideline.

While he modestly refuses to represent himself as doing anything extraordinary, and always gives credit to the entire legal profession in St. Louis for their generosity with pro bono services and support to great opportunities for others. Yet, he has always been one of the most steadfast and dependable and has always set the example for his peers.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) provides free legal aid for civil cases to those who cannot afford a lawyer otherwise. Without their assistance, many people would not be able to properly fight injustice in their lives. LSEM, led by Executive Director Dan Glazier and Board President Tom Glick, serve literally thousands of low income population in 21 counties in eastern Missouri through a staff of attorneys and social workers, augmented by volunteer (pro bono) lawyers from all over the metropolitan area.

They help people with all types of civil legal problems and challenges in the areas of family law, housing, consumer, education, immigration, public benefits, income maintenance, and other problems specific to the elderly. Actions by an LSEM attorney can make the difference between a family keeping a roof over their head in a case of an unscrupulous landlord, or assuring that a special needs child receives the tailored education plan (IEP) guaranteed them by law but often skirted by some schools. LSEM regularly saves their clients from consumer fraud situations, and rescues them from domestic abuse environments. In the process, when clients must miss work because of a legal situation beyond their control, LSEM has often been able to save their jobs too!

A large part of the necessary funding for LSEM comes from the national Legal Services Corporation, but they also make solicitations independently and receive some grants, are a member agency of the United Way Campaign, and hold an annual Justice for All Ball as a fundraiser.

With these resources, LSEM fulfills an important role in delivering justice to those who could otherwise least afford it, but often need it the most.

 

 

2013

Sheila Burton

Super heroes can come in all shapes and sizes these days. Some aren’t easily recognizable because they do not fly or wear a cape. Attorney Sheila Burton is a case in point. She already labors daily for the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, a non-profit legal aid organization that provides legal representation in civil matters for low-income people. But that was not enough.

While serving as a legal advocate for the poor, Sheila learned of a then 10-year-old girl whose mother had been shot and killed in the housing projects of East St. Louis when she was two years old. In the style of Sheila – a no-nonsense, get-it-done woman – she became a “big sister” to the girl, taking her on outings and mentoring her. Sheila’s friends observed the positive impact she had on the youngster and they wanted to be a part of it. That’s when she spearheaded Girls Club, a program that provides outings and opportunities for children living in poverty in East St. Louis.

That was 23 years ago and it is still going strong. The Girls Club later added a counterpart Boys Club (but you’ll have to finish this article and then read the article below about Sheila’s husband). About 15 years after launching the two Clubs, Sheila was wondering how to marry the two worlds – the world she experiences that is full of opportunity with the world of those living in poverty. “I wondered how to really make changes – life changes – to make more of an impact for these kids,” she says. The children were benefiting from their experiences with the adults in Girls Club and Boys Club, but Sheila wanted to open the door for a future with more possibilities for those she served. And that’s when she began the Family Mentoring Program, to support young families living in poverty as they struggle day in and day out.

“The program is successful because it’s based on relationships,” Sheila said. “Realizing the best way to help the children is to help their mothers, we focus on the moms and built those relationships. We talk with them and are there for them as they struggle to meet their goals – as they struggle with the hardships of poverty.”

Next came the Alternative Education Program, yet another piece of a puzzle to lift families out of poverty. Altogether, Join Hands ESL now represents all these components of caring and assisting those less fortunate, while providing a step up toward a better life for those in need.

Hon. Michael D. Burton

Judge Michael Burton is the Administrative (presiding) Judge of the St. Louis County Family Court. In this position, Judge Burton has worked tirelessly to not only make decisions from the bench, but to help those who come before him leave with some hope. A year ago he said, “Having had the privilege of hearing juvenile matters over the past seven years, I am constantly reminded of the plight of poor children in our community. Absent fathers. Huge families. No food. Schools ill-equipped to address basic challenges. Drug addiction. Undiagnosed mental illnesses. Overburdened mothers who work multiple jobs, making supervision of their loved ones impossible. Nothing to wear (which is a big deal for school-age children). The list goes on.”

The judge’s answer to this dilemma was to establish a Civil Domestic Violence (DV) Court in St. Louis County in 2009 after a detailed planning process that included community advocates, court staff, volunteer attorneys and other professionals. This specialty court would deal with those crucial cases where effective solutions to domestic violence cases could be meted out and potentially help both victims as well as the perpetrator. As a result, a variety of legal and social services are now provided to victims of intimate partner violence, perpetrators, and their children. It is widely recognized as one of the most innovative civil domestic violence courts in the region.

Judge Burton also identified another problem for many of the children appearing before him: education. “It is certainly understandable how schools get exasperated with many of the youth that I see in court. Yet, in many instances, the educational approach is laughable,” he says. “Many school principals often suspend children who have missed too many days of classes. The logic seems to be missing here. When these children eventually return to school, they have missed critical lessons that the teacher use as building blocks for new lessons.” He believes that what they need most are mentors and tutors.

Oh, remember what we reported about Sheila Burton, the Judge’s wife, who grew the Girls Club into a full-fledgedJoin Hands ESL to better that community. Well, we need to say here that it was the additional effort of Judge Burton who added the Boys Club to the equation and regularly contributes his ideas and hard work there too.

Patricia "Patti" Hageman

Patti Hageman is the City of St. Louis’ City Counselor. It’s a big job, but all too often the work that needs to be done overwhelms her sizable staff of attorneys. That was the case with problem properties over the years. And, it wasn’t something she could solve easily while personnel budgets are limited during these tight times. So she got creative. The goal was to improve the quality of life in St. Louis neighborhoods, fight nuisance property crimes, and crack down on absentee landlords and others who maintain derelict property.

She didn’t want to take away from legal services organizations that were already doing important work in the community. What she needed, she dreamed, was a task force of lawyers who are not now doing pro bono, but would be willing to learn all the intricacies of legally solving problem property cases in their spare time. As she worked out the mechanics of how this could work, she met with then President of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) Heather Hays and floated the concept. “What if,” she asked, “we partner to make St. Louis neighborhoods better?”

Hageman quickly received BAMSL’s blessing. A press conference was scheduled. Paul Brown stepped forward as the Chairman of this brand new BAMSL committee, Lawyers for City Neighborhoods, and it took off. In fact, it was up and running in just weeks!

Realizing that few things run well on autopilot, Hageman once again, with the help of Paul Brown, personally participated in regular, ongoing Continuing Legal Education sessions, held at BAMSL’s Bar Center to instruct the pro bono lawyers what they will be doing, and how to do it as they join Lawyers for City Neighborhoods.

What we call this type of vision, effort, innovation and determination is leadership. Sure, she’s getting more done with less. But the folks in those neighborhoods, who are benefitting from the rehabs, the clean-ups, the yard mowing, court orders, and even some domestic violence settlements, think it is much more than that.

Paul Brown

Paul Brown, a partner with Thompson Coburn, is the Chair of Lawyers for City Neighborhoods, a partnership between the City of St. Louis’ City Counselor’s Office and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL). He stepped forward, despite the heavy workload that befits a Partner at a large law firm like Thompson Coburn, to lead this group that recruits and trains BAMSL lawyers to provide pro bono legal work to help reduce the overloaded docket of problem properties. While reducing a growing docket that has challenged the City Counselor’s Office staff for years appears to be only a civic assist, Brown recognized the humanitarian implications immediately.

Problem properties are those that may be neglected structurally causing unsafe living conditions for residents or need cosmetic construction and clean-up so they are not a neighborhood eyesore or nuisance. But problem properties also manifest themselves, often, as behavioral nuisances that require enforcement for the safety and peace of mind of neighbors.

These are all very specialized legal areas whose remedies are diverse. The City Counselor’s Office prosecutes property owners for resolution, but also engages in community dialogue and negotiations, and may even adjust the City code to achieve desired results that make City neighborhoods more livable and keep them vibrant.

Brown’s enthusiastic efforts to recruit volunteers while heading up this important committee has had a noticeable impact – both on many City neighborhoods, for City residents, and not coincidentally for the many BAMSL volunteer lawyers who have found satisfaction in helping maintain a stronger community.

Capt. Daniel Howard

Capt. Dan, as many BAMSL members who are active with the annual Motion For Kids (MFK) event at the Edward Jones Dome know him, can be an imposing figure standing six-foot four-inches tall.  But he is also a very affable person who has served the BAMSL-St. Louis Rams effort for over 18 years by volunteering to recruit and manage the security at the Dome while 3,000 kids and their families participate in the all-day party.  Observing him run the security each year at the MFK event to make sure everything goes smoothly and safely, it is quite clear that he is there, not just because he wants to help the event succeed, but because he genuinely enjoys being around the kids and cares about giving them a great day to remember.

Howard, as Commander of the Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department’s 1st District in the neighborhoods of Bevo Mill, Boulevard Heights, Carondelet Park, Dutchtown, Holly Hills, Mount Pleasant, Patch and portions of Marine Villa and Princeton Heights, has his work cut out for him. Yet, in that role, he has maintained a reputation of being tough on crime, but also concerned for the children who he works to protect and serve.

Just this past June, 17-year-old Kendell Robinson was walking home after buying his dad a Father’s Day present with the money he got for getting straight A’s all school year. Capt. Howard, on his lunch break, saw Kendell moments after he was robbed by three other youths. Howard quickly tracked down the suspects and arrested them. Later, Howard said, “This was a good kid. He gets straight A’s even dealing with the challenge of autism. Just the fact that these three preyed on him – these thugs – it speaks volumes to me about their character as human beings.” Howard was able to retrieve the stolen present and cash and return it to Kendell.

He has also spearheaded the “Neighborhood Ownership Model” program in his District where residents are trained by police and the circuit attorney’s office to do everything from patrolling to attending court hearings. With more than 600 volunteers, as extra eyes and ears in the neighborhoods, police say crime is down 27 percent in Howard’s District since the program began just over two years ago.

“This plan has something for everybody. I don’t care if you’re bed ridden as long as you can pick up a pen and write a statement to the judge about how a crime impacts you or a certain criminal impacts you in your neighborhood,” said Howard. His goal, he says, is to achieve 1,000 volunteers to help his force keep the streets crime free.

Sylvester Brown, Jr.

This former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist, known for his keen sense of social justice, grew up in the Pruitt-Igoe housing project just north of downtown St. Louis, in the shadow of prosperity without being able to share in it easily. Of the two paths available to get him out of the project, thanks to mentors, he chose education, hard work and perseverance.

Today, working as a freelance writer, contributing to his blog for both print and broadcast outlets and collaborating with notables like Tavis Smiley, Brown looked around and saw that the “need” for a step up in his community had not diminished since he was a teenager. He recalled others who had helped him move in the right direction and felt it was time to pay it forward.

That’s when he hatched the idea for The Sweet Potato Project. In its second year, Brown recruits 20 to 25 at-risk youth and gives them summer jobs planting, tending and harvesting two plots of sweet potato plants on lots in North St. Louis. While the vines are growing and only need watering and weeding, Brown exposes the teens to additional mentors who teach the teens about entrepreneurship – so they learn that there are ways to earn money without resorting to drugs or crime – how to develop a product and market it, salesmanship, accounting, and other skills needed to successfully run a business.  When the harvest is in, and they expect 400 to 500 pounds of sweet potatoes this year, the kids make cookies and other products that can be sold – not unlike Girl Scout cookie sales.

With the generous support of the North Area Community Development Corporation, The Steward Foundation, and World Wide Technology, The Sweet Potato Project provides a weekly paycheck to the participating teens for their hard work and participation, and a valuable lesson in how to get and hold a job.

As 16-year old Keon Williams put it, “All you hear on the news is black people getting killed, black people going to jail, black people getting life, and I didn’t want to be one of those people.” Brown’s initiative is why he is one of this year’s Spirit of Justice Award recipients.

Art Holliday

Art Holliday has been coming into our homes for 34 years as a sportscaster and news anchor at KSDK-TV (Channel 5). His career after “J” school at the University of Missouri-Columbia began with his first 10 years doing sports, then as an anchor with Jennifer Blome for 22 years on their morning news show.Most recently he moved to anchor newscasts, and does live reporting on news in this town each day.

Behind the scenes he is an avid documentary film maker who has exposed many of the problems those with a mental health issue face. His documentary film, Before They Fall Off The Cliff, dealst with the fact that it isn’t a crime to have a mental illness, and it also isn’t against the law to refuse treatment. Yet, society often treats persons with mental illness as criminals. The film so accurately portrays the problem and offers guidance on how to correct our views on mental illness that it has been seen by thousands of police officers around the country as part of the Crisis Intervention Team program which trains police officers about dealing with citizens who are mentally ill.

Holliday also gives of his time as a cordial, and often humorous, master of ceremonies for non-profits at their special events and dinners each year. The Bar Association was fortunate to have him appear at our Champion of Justice Awards Luncheon where we honored William Ray Price, Jr. on the occasion of his retirement a year ago in August.

As a return emcee at many of the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club events and a St. Charles Boys Club alum, this consummate journalist noticed and speaks about why his presence at Mathews-Dickey is so important, “I understand what it means to have someone care and listen to you. It’s a place where kids know that adults care. Once they know you care, they listen. And once they listen, they’re more likely to take the right path and not the wrong path.”

As a news anchor, reporter, and producer, Holliday has also taken advantage of his position to seek out stories that bear good news and show the better side of people. He has pursued many stories that cause us to be more optimistic about our community and those who live in it by balancing the dreary and violent news that makes the headlines. He believes that people rise to higher standards if they are given a good role model, worthy goals, and great examples to follow. While that’s not news, it is something we all need to hear and see from time to time.

2012

ArchCity Defenders: Thomas Harvey, John McAnnar and Michael-John Voss

When law school is completed, most grads turn their attention to gainful employment. In the case of Michael-John Voss, Thomas Harvey, and John McAnnar their minds fixed on employment and helping others with their newly-earned law degrees.

During law school, working at the clinics at SLU, they had identified the need to help those citizens who were often marginalized in the justice system – sometimes in limbo between the criminal and civil courts. In this situation, there is seldom someone who can help them navigate and advocate for them.

And, so, the ArchCity Defenders was established. They work to break the cycle of “revolving door justice” throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. And, they do this at no charge to clients and on top of their “day” jobs.

“Most of our clients are people not eligible for legal, social or other services of any organizations and unable to afford private counsel. Our clients represent the people who commonly fall through the cracks,” says Michael-John Voss.

While, in theory, everyone has the same legal rights, in practice the assistance of attorneys is required to ensure those rights are observed, protected, and administered impartially.

They recognized a serious legal need while still in law school and then did something about it.

Todd Epsten (Deceased)

Though Todd Epsten was a native of Kansas City, he fell in love almost immediately with St. Louis after moving here in 1988. “We moved to the Central West End in September of 1988 and we were hooked,” said Sue McCollum, his wife.

Todd has been characterized as an effective, passionate, hands-on advocate for St. Louis. He served as chairman of Forest Park Forever, the organization that has brought new life to the park that is larger than New York’s Central Park, but had fallen into much disrepair and neglect. He appreciated its historical and recreational resources, as well as museums and other attractions. Probably, most important, he recognized its potential. A fund raising campaign of his design launched the initial effort to make needed improvements and bring the park back to its once resplendent condition.

He was also vice chairman of the Regional Business Council, chairman emeritus of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, one of his favorite organizations which he served in many capacities. He was trustee of the St. Louis Science Center, the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, and the St. Louis Art Museum. He had served as a St. Louis Airport Commissioner and was a former president of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners.
Epsten was the Chairman of Major Brands, Inc., a family business, whose expansion to eastern Missouri brought him to St. Louis in the first place.

At age 52, Todd Epsten died of cancer and left St. Louis with a legacy of philanthropy, service, and a sincere love for his family, his work and his community. We recognize him tonight as a shining example how one person can make a difference for others in their community when they act upon their convictions.

Frank Finnegan

For too many people in our society, hunger is a problem. And because of the St. Louis Area Foodbank headed by Frank Finnegan, many families in 26 counties in eastern Missouri won’t always go to bed hungry tonight.

What started out as a way to drive down the rate of low birthweight newborns has grown to take on hunger for all ages and a much larger geographic area. “We began in a little office in 1975 that was supplied to us by the Red Cross,” Finnegan explained. But, today, their newer facility in Earth City allows them to store dry goods and foodstuff that require refrigeration. In 2011 they distributed more than 25 million pounds of food – from a variety of sources – to those who need help putting food on the table.

Ironically, as they increased the amount of food they bring in from manufacturers and retailers who make donations to the Foodbank, and added workers, volunteers and trucks to augment their capacity, the recession – with job losses and reduced incomes – has created a whole new class of need.

Under Frank’s leadership and energy, the St. Louis Foodbank has continued to meet those needs. Harnessing their desire to reach more people and do more for anyone who hungers, they are now looking new, innovative ways of reaching others – such as school children and “food deserts” (those neighborhoods where grocery stores just don’t exist) and more.

It takes someone who cares and doesn’t get discouraged easily when new challenges arise; someone who knows that hard work, creativity and by enlisting help where he can get it, will ensure that fewer Missourians are hungry tonight.

Frankie Muse Freeman

She was born in Danville, Virginia on November 24, 1916. It was a time when a woman wanting to go to law school had an uphill battle, much less a woman of color. But, Frankie Freeman was admitted to law school and soon became a lawyer. Because her husband Shelby was from St. Louis, they moved here in 1949 and she opened her solo law practice soon thereafter. She began her practice with pro bono, divorce and criminal cases, eventually adding civil rights to her caseload. In time she became legal counsel to the NAACP legal team that filed suit against the St. Louis Board of Education in 1949. In 1954, she was the lead attorney for the landmark NAACP case Davis et al. v. the St. Louis Land Clearance and Housing Authorities.

Frankie Freeman knows the law, but just as important, she knows how to think for herself and to identify right from wrong. She can spot injustice before it turns the corner.

In March 1964, she was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson as a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. By September, the Senate approved her nomination and she was officially appointed as the first black woman on the Commission. She was subsequently reappointed by presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and held the position until July 1979.

She was also appointed as Inspector General for the Community Services Administration during the Carter administration.

When Freeman returned to St. Louis to practice law in 1982 she also joined 15 other former high federal officials who formed a bipartisan Citizens Commission on Civil Rights.

She recently “retired” from private practice law with Montgomery Hollie & Associates, but remains active in many organizations and causes, her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, and her church, Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. She has served and continues to serve on numerous boards and has received honorary degrees, awards and accolades too numerous to mention here. In 2003 she published her memoir, A Song of Faith and Hope.

Today, Ms. Freeman continues to work for equality and tells those who will listen that a good starting point for all mankind to get along and be equal is to “get to know each other.” Sound advice.

Eric Greitens

Eric Greitens grew up in St. Louis, attended Duke University and then Oxford University where he earned his Master’s and a Ph.D. in International Humanitarian Organizations. He then enlisted in the military and served 10 years with the Navy SEALs.

When Eric returned home from four tours of service in Iraq as a Navy SEAL, he took time to visit with wounded Marines at Bethesda Naval Hospital. What he noticed without exception was that each Marine expressed a desire to continue serving his country in some way, even he could no longer do so in the military. Many had lost limbs or suffered other injuries that affected their ability to “walk” into a civilian job.

Inspired, Eric used his own combat pay and two friends pitched in their military disability checks to found The Mission Continues.

The Mission Continues, headquartered just south of downtown St. Louis, does not offer charity. Instead it challenges returning veterans to utilize their tremendous skills and leadership to continue serving their country at home – often in a way that they couldn’t achieve on their own. As a The Mission Continues “fellow,” they find renewed strength and purpose while building stronger communities.

The organization awards its community service fellowships to post-9/11 veterans, empowering them to transform their own lives by serving others and impacting their communities. Each fellow works to achieve one of three outcomes at the conclusion of the fellowship: full-time employment, pursuit of higher education, or a permanent role of service.

At the end of their fellowship, the Fellow leads a service project in his/her community, bringing veterans and civilians together in days of service. The organization has been successful in helping veterans realize their desire to continue to serve, to contribute to their community and nation, and to have real purpose by continuing to realize their potential and worth as an American.

Judicial Learning Center

Former Chief Judge Catherine D. Perry of the Eastern District of Missouri says that the Judicial Learning Center is a wonderful and needed addition to the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse, but it was not easy to achieve. Originally the brainchild of a former Chief Judge, Edward Louis Fillippine, he conceived the idea when plans for the new courthouse were being developed.

It was only a seedling of an idea back then. But, with nourishment from subsequent judges and local lawyers, the idea began to take hold until it seemed it could become a reality. But a few barriers remained. Since courts cannot solicit money, a not-for-profit organization, The Judicial Learning Center Inc. was formed and run by local lawyers, including the St. Louis Bar Foundation. They raised the funds needed and then gifted it to the court. As Judge Perry says, “The Learning Center is a gift to the people of St. Louis from the lawyers of St. Louis.”

Today, with reduced emphasis on civics, in many of our schools, one of the few places remaining where children and adults alike can learn about this third branch of government, the courts, can be found at the Judicial Learning Center. And this “school” makes it fun for all to learn! The Center has unique, innovative exhibits and displays that engage students to learn about many facets of the law and our system of justice.

Of course, school districts today are also running on bare bone budgets which means field trips to places as beneficial as the Judicial Learning Center often have to be scrapped. With concern for the kids, the Judicial Learning Center Inc., which funded the Center in the first place, now also provides grants and scholarships to help schools pay for the buses and other means needed to visit. The verdict is clear: better informed students and adults. Judge Perry reminds everyone that the Center is open to the public, of all ages.

BJC HealthCare

With over 28,000 employees, BJC HealthCare is the largest private employer in the State of Missouri. And many would think they help us out enough right there. But at BJC HealthCare, that is just the beginning.

Steven Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare since 1999, says that because they are a not-for-profit organization, they retain any positive operating margin for community benefit, instead of distributing those earnings to individuals for individual benefit. This allows them to build new hospitals where they are needed, create health education programs for their teaching hospitals and the public, provide expanded local services and care for the uninsured and poor, and invest in biomedical research that creates new information to advance the frontiers of medicine. But there’s more.

Their service to the community starts at the top. BJC’s Board of Directors has six committees. One is the Community Benefit Committee, which is made up of board members and individuals from the community. “They are very committed to St. Louis, especially those disadvantaged because of location or other reasons,” said Lipstein.

“BJC is committed to making a positive change in their lives,” Lipstein says. So the organization takes the lead in being a good neighbor through neighborhood development and neighborhood security programs. BJC employees also have a history of frequently and enthusiastically getting involved where they work and where they live in order to make a difference. Lipstein says that “all of us at BJC HealthCare live in this community and want the best for it.” Often they band together to form BJC Teams. Recently in Columbia, Missouri, there were five cycling teams in the annual MS Bike Ride. Many others volunteer for all kinds of charities and community programs. They are not only committed to our patients and their families, but their neighbors as well.

He sees poverty as one of the greatest challenges facing the country and the St. Louis area. “If we can work to lift people out of poverty, it solves our healthcare cost challenges, it solves some of our crime challenges, it solves some of our unemployment challenges. And, so BJC wants to work with the community – we can’t solve them on our own, but we can work to help everybody get to a better and healthier life.”

 

 

2011

Christina Lewis Abate

Abate is a Risk Manager for The Bar Plan. In that position she regularly provides risk management consultation services to law firms and attorneys. She graduated in 2004 with her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law where she worked as a Rule 13 Certified Law Clerk representing juveniles in detention hearings and criminal bench trials, conducting intake interviews of clients and witnesses in preparation for trial and prepared motions on behalf of clients. She also served as a Rule 13 Certified Law Clerk while in school for Legal Advocates for Abused Women. Following graduation, Abate worked as an Assistant Public Defender for several years before joining The Bar Plan.

In addition to her full-time job, Abate volunteers extensively for many non-profits and charities including the Volunteer Lawyer’s Program (VLP) of the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM). She is also actively involved in St. Liborius Social Ministries (through LSEM), St. Vincent’s Home for the Children, the Volunteer Tax Assistance Program, Habitat for Humanity, Martineztown House of Neighborly Service (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Barrett House for Women (Albuquerque, N.M.). She actively looks for ways to help those for whom legal assistance and legal solutions are often out of reach and exceptionally challenging.

She was also recently named The Missouri Bar Young Lawyer Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates and selected as Co-Chair of the ABA YLD Ethics and Professionalism Committee.

But what makes her stand out, say friends and colleagues, is the compassion and caring she brings to both her professional and volunteer work, going above and beyond what is required in personal attention to their needs.

Brian J. Cooke

Brian Cooke believes in the administration of justice and is committed to serving others before himself. As a Marine Corps Captain and Judge Advocate, Cooke was deployed to Iraq about the same time Saddam Hussein was captured and Iraq’s semblance of a court system had collapsed. During his deployment as a field team leader for the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, Cooke served his country as the first Western prosecutor to appear before the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. In this capacity, he was tasked by the U.S. Department of Justice to restore the rule of law in Iraq, while respecting the country’s sovereignty under International Law. Under his leadership as a senior military officer, he prosecuted highly visible criminal suspects operating in Baghdad and the Eastern Anbar Province. He also helped restore the independence of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice by exposing former regime loyalists who had used the court system to commit human rights violations. When his tour of duty was completed, he left behind a fledgling, yet independent court system that applied the law impartially regardless of race, creed, sex or color – a human right that the Iraqi people had long been without.

Today, he continues his work in the private law firm of Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC where he represents personal injury victims, many of which are veterans. He also contributes a significant portion of his time to helping military veterans in court rooms throughout the St. Louis region on a pro bono basis. With a growing number of veterans returning home to face legal situations that have arisen while away serving in a foreign land, Cooke’s continued service to veterans illustrates his true identity and provides a telling example of how he tries to live his life and help service men and women.

Antonio D. French

Antonio French has put a fresh new face on being a politician in the City of St. Louis. In his first term as Alderman for the 21st Ward, where he was born and raised, he has already made a positive difference in the lives of his constituents and has shown no inclination of slowing down. He has exhibited the energy, enthusiasm and ingenuity to improve the quality of life for the ward’s citizens above and beyond making sure the streets are repaired and garbage is picked up on time.

He has focused on a wide variety of projects that he believes will not only restore the viability of the Ward, but the dignity of its citizens as well. Some of the initiatives that he has championed are designed to normalize the often traumatized North St. Louis community. Following a significant clean up and rehab of O’Fallon Park, French worked with the Sheldon Concert Hall to organize a summer-long jazz concert series that brought families back to the park for free entertainment and a greater sense of community – for many the first time in a long time.

His “Block by Block” partnership with the non-profit Rebuilding Together and The Boeing Company resulted in the rehab of more than 50 homes for seniors and disadvantaged homeowners by scores of volunteers and neighbors, ultimately providing needed stability to the older neighborhoods, and encouraging other that could to make improvements.

He has been instrumental in organizing and encouraging others to participate in community gardens that not only put food on the table for families who cannot afford fresh produce, but promotes a tighter-knit community too. And, with the St. Louis Police Department, “safe zones” for hundreds of children in North St. Louis were created so they can trick or treat on Halloween.
He can be seen organizing parks and recreation events such as the Northside 3-on-3 tournaments for neighborhood youth, often bringing “role model” athletes to participate with the at-risk youth.

Recently, Alderman French worked to bring greater public safety to his Ward with the installation of special surveillance cameras located on high crime corners in his ward to help identify criminals for police and provide evidence for prosecution. He was able to do this in spite of the Mayor vetoing his Northside Public Safety Bill. “The city is a slow-moving machine, sometimes frustratingly slow,” French said. But, because he cares about his Ward, he continues to not take no for an answer and to build a better community one day at a time.

Martin L. Mathews

For more than 48 years, Martin L. Mathews has dedicated his life to community service. A former coach of the Mathews-Dickey Knights, Mathews led his team of 30 young men to victories on the baseball fields and in their schools and communities and became a champion for youth. He has forged relationships with business and community leaders to developed innovative programs for thousands of young people. In 1960, Mathews co-founded the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ Club under a shade tree in St. Louis’ Handy Park.

Today, he is the full-time President and CEO of the Club, which annually serves more than 40,000 young men and women from the St. Louis-metropolitan area. Thousands of successful alumni have graduated from the Club’s programs. In 2001, the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ Club officially became the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club.

In 1982, the Club was declared a model for the country by President Ronald Reagan. Its successful programs were recognized by the NBC Today Show in the summer of 1994, and Vice President Dan Quayle and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas also visited the Club to applaud the St. Louis Internship Program – which now operates in 36 cities.

Mathews serves on the boards of the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Foundation and Baseball Collegiate League. A founding member of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Community Board, he continues to work successfully with individuals from diverse ethnic and professional backgrounds to improve race relations and community partnerships in our society.

“Because they wanted to be the best and they wanted to be winners, it was easy to convince my first baseball team that hard work and determination do pay off. Even though sports is the Club’s number one drawing card, our greater goal is to produce a Scholar Athlete — with programs that address the total needs of young men and women. Not only do we produce champions on the fields, we train members to become leaders in their classrooms, workforce and communities.” he said.

Mathews-Dickey continues to touch the lives of hundreds of families each year. Every day we receive numerous calls from parents and educators seeking counseling and mentors for troubled youth. We respond by recruiting alumni and other volunteers as coaches, tutors and mentors. Students are enrolled in a wholesome array of activities, including career-readiness workshops, culinary arts, crafts, fine and performing arts, swimming, baseball, basketball, football, softball, tutoring, cheerleading, computer training, and educational and leadership seminars. Special friends help us identify membership assistance for deserving families.

James E. McDaniel

An attorney with Lashly & Baer, P.C. he is a past president of both the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) and the Missouri Bar, James McDaniel is no stranger to serving his profession and his community. In addition, over the years, he has served in the House of Delegates and as State Delegate for the American Bar Association and is a past president of the St. Louis Bar Foundation. As Bar Foundation President, McDaniel lead the Foundation through a study resulting in a realization that the Foundation needed to establish its own identify and be revitalized to remain an effective organization. His leadership ultimately resulted in the founding of the annual Golden Gala and Spirit of Justice Awards, among other significant changes.

In 2009 he served on the BAMSL Strategic Planning Committee leading the group to include “Professionalism” as one of its five main goals. He also led a group of Missouri attorneys in his tireless efforts to make “Professionalism” a part of the Missouri legal system, believing that a higher standards better serve everyone. Fifty years after his graduation from Washington University School of Law he has continued his dedication to the profession by tirelessly working on BAMSL and Missouri Bar Committees and advocating for higher standards of professionalism, while also setting a clear and strong example for others. He has not only been a leader, but has always set the example, for attorneys of all ages.

Mardi Montello (Deceased)

Mardi Montello passed away in August of 2011 after a long battle with cancer. She made an indelible impression on the St. Louis legal community for many reasons.

She was bright, engaging and sincere. After earning two Bachelor’s degrees, then two graduate degrees, and working in several businesses and industries, she decided she wasn’t finished and went to law school.

Practicing law to help others wasn’t enough. Mardi was always quick to give her time to help those who could not afford legal representation by providing pro bono legal services. The fact that some couldn’t afford the legal help they needed seemed to fuel her energy and passion even more.

Mardi regularly contributed to the many associations she belong to, and always ended up doing more than her share for the Motion for Kids annual children’s party put on by BAMSL.

In 2003 she received the Volunteer Lawyer Award from Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) and the Legal Advocates for Abused Women Special Recognition Award in 2009.

She was a member of the Missouri Bar, BAMSL, Women’s Law Association, Collaborative Family Law Association, St. Louis County Bar Association, Legal Advocates for Abused Women Board, Family Resource Center Advocacy Board and the Lawyers for Kids Board. But above all, she was in the hearts of all who had the opportunity and pleasure to work with her on her quest to help others.

Amy Lorenz-Moser, Armstrong Teasdale

Amy Lorenz-Moser has become a champion for abused women that dates back to her sophomore year in college when she witnessed a man beat a female food service employee in front of a room filled with students. Everyone ran from the room except for Amy. She stayed with the woman and called the police. “Nobody would help her,” Amy said, “It struck a chord with me. I realized that if I could do something to help people in situations like this, I could really make a difference.”

In law school at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, she began her pro bono work at the school’s Family Violence Clinic and for the Missouri Coalition for Battered Women Clemency Project.

She has continued her volunteerism by providing pro bono representation of battered women and in 2010 won the parole of Carlene Borden and Vicky Williams. Both had been convicted of murdering their husbands after suffering many years of physical, sexual, and mental abuse. Each spent more than 30 years in prison until they were released amid a firestorm of controversy in September, 2010. Evidence of the abuse was never presented at their trials.

Border, 65, and Williams, 55, won their freedom through Lorenz-Moser’s tenacious fight for their release Handling the cases on a pro bono basis, she also paid the litigation expenses out of her own pocket and spent hundreds of hours, many at night and on weekends, in the pursuit of justice for these women.

The women had remained in prison despite a Missouri law enacted in 2007 specifically intended to help cases like theirs. The law states that offenders who had murdered their spouses would be eligible for parole if they had served at least 15 years, had no prior violent felony convictions, had a history of “substantial physical abuse or sexual domestic violence” not presented at trial, and were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.

The Missouri Board of Probation and Parole had denied parole to both women previously on two occasions in spite of the law. Lorenz-Moser filed a Writ of Mandamus, arguing the Board improperly delayed its determination and that when it finally issued a ruling, it had applied an incorrect standard and failed to issue a detailed report outlining its reasoning. The court ruled in her favor, but the parole board refused to release the two women.

More determined than ever, Lorenz-Moser persisted with a second Writ and convinced the court to force the parole board to revisit the issue of release. This time, arguing that the board had violated the previous court order, had still not issued proper reports, again applied an improper standard, and improperly considered the women’s offenses, the court found for her clients on every single point. The women were released.

She is now representing Tanya Mitchell who is serving a 15 year sentence for killing her abuser.

Kevin Demoff, St. Louis Rams Executive Vice President of Football Operations and COO

For 17 years now, the St. Louis Rams NFL Football Club has been instrumental in the ongoing success of the Motion for Kids (formerly Project Angel Tree) annual holiday party for disadvantaged children, many who have a parent who is affected by the criminal justice system. Partnering with the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the St. Louis Bar Foundation, plus hundreds of other organizations and volunteers, the Rams have opened the doors of the Edward Jones Dome and the wherewithal of their staff to become the keystone of the event. They have worked tirelessly year after year to coordinate Rams players, cheerleaders, security and other personnel and vendors, along with their unique brand of hospitality to always make the party a success. Without the generosity of the Rams organization, the effort to bring a day of joy to these kids could not take on the proportions it has grown to.

The MFK Party in 2010 welcomed over 4,000 children who would not have received the holiday attention or a present to take home otherwise. All of the children arrive with anticipation and leave with broad smiles. Hundreds of hours are required to collect, stage, wrap and transport the presents to the Dome. Once there, the Rams staff makes every aspect of the day special for the children from the complimentary meal to crowd control so each child gets to see Santa, making sure the kids can get a picture with a Rams football star, play games on the Astroturf, and receive a personalized present when it’s time to go home. This is a special kind of justice delivered.

 

 

2010

Dr. Donald M. Suggs

Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Donald M. Suggs attended public schools and went on to graduate with B.S. and D.D.S. degrees from Indiana University. He then did his post-graduate work at Washington University Dental School and Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He has served as chief or oral surgery at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and was the first African-American to serve as an associate clinical professor at St. Louis University Dental School. Suggs was a fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgeons and has a limited private practice in his specialty. However, his dedication to community has not taken a back seat to his illustrious dental career. Active in the civil rights movement in the 60’s and 70’s, he served as chairman of the Poor People’s March-On-Washington in 1968. Later, he became founder and chairman of the African Continuum, organized to bring serious non-commercial African-American artistic endeavors to St. Louis. He was a long-time president of the Alexander-Suggs Gallery of African Art based in St. Louis and New York City. He is a founding member of the Center for African Art (now the Museum of African Art in New York City), and is a former member of the board of directors of the Studio Museum Board of Commissioners. Among the long list of community involvement, awards, and leadership posts over the years, Dr. Suggs was the first African-American to serve as president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of St. Louis. His business activities include being president of Arch Concessions and a partner with D&D Concessions and the City Plaza Project. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Harris-Stowe State University, and St. Louis University, and is the recipient of many civic awards.

Police Athletic League, Lt. Col. Gregory Hawkins (Retired)

PAL is a volunteer-based program that provides low-cost athletic, educational and cultural programs to area children. There is no cost for these children to participate, and all equipment, uniforms, league fees, registration, and insurance fees are provided and paid for by PAL. As such, the organization is positioned to provide a positive and constructive environment through sports for children to grow and develop. There are 85 PAL-sponsored teams in a variety of sports including basketball, baseball, soccer, softball, weightlifting, street hockey, track and field, and cheerleading. Eligible children must have satisfactory grades and attendance, and not be involved in criminal or delinquent behavior. The premise of PAL is two-fold and simple. The first aim of the program is to get children active and involved in sports so they are not out on the streets. The program’s motto is “We fill playgrounds, not prisons.” With each sport and activity having a police volunteer involved, PAL’s second goal is to have children grow to respect police officers in the community. The reasoning behind this is that if children grow to respect police officers in a gym or on a field, they will grow to respect officers and the laws they enforce.

Eddie Roth

Mr. Roth’s career path has taken some unusual twists and turns from law clerk to litigator, a journalist on a beat, and today a respected editorial writer. It has been a journey marked by an apparent desire to share and communicate ideas and knowledge and, in so doing, keep the public better informed. His interests span community organizing and problem solving, public safety, urban planning and governance, education, judicial administration and social issues. He has previously received the Inland Press Associations “New Frontier Award” for Best Online Commentary 2007; Ohio Society of Professional Journalists’ Best Editorial Writer, Online, 2007; the Best of Cox Newspapers Award for Editorial Writing 2003, 2004 and 2005; and the Best Editorial Writer, 2004 from the Associate Press Society of Ohio.

Northwest Academy of Law, Valerie Carter Thomas, Principal

Created in 2005, the Northwest Academy of Law is a “school of choice” magnet-type school in the St. Louis City Public School System. As its name suggest, the Academy is an alternative high school with a specific focus on the legal profession. The curriculum is designed with this in mind, as well as college preparation, concentrating on writing, public speaking, debate and basic knowledge of the law. In addition to law-related classes, the school offers internships through the St. Louis Circuit Court where participants are able to shadow judges, prosecutors, sheriff’s deputies and jury coordinators. Interestingly, this school is not just for aspiring lawyers. In fact, many of the school’s first students picked Northwest simply because it was close to their home, and never even considered becoming a lawyer. However, many of the school’s first graduates (a class of 75 who graduated in June of this year), are planning on attending college. Furthermore, while a handful of students are planning on attending law school, a fair share also plan on pursuing law-related careers including law enforcement. No doubt this career trajectory has been nurtured by the Northeast Academy of Law curriculum; students are quick to mention a new direction and focus along with overcoming challenges and considering new options for their future.

Mary Detach Leonard

Mary Delach Leonard, is a veteran and well respected journalist who joined the St. Louis Beacon in April 2008 after a 17-year career at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she was a reporter and an editor in the features section. Ms. Leonard began her newspaper career at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat after earning a degree in mass communication from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where she currently serves as an adjunct faculty member. Her work at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was cited for awards by such organizations as the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors, the Missouri Press Association, and the Illinois Press Association. Most recently, Ms. Leonard’s series on facing the mortgage crisis not only alerted the populace to all angles of the growing problem of foreclosures, but offered readers solutions for mortgage restructuring and kept them aware of other options for assistance so they might keep their homes.

Kids Voting Missouri, Sandra I. Diamond, Director

Kids Voting Missouri is a local affiliate of Kids Voting USA, a national non-profit, non-partisan program in which students, grades K-12, go to polls with their parents or other adult voters on Election Day and cast ballots for the same candidates and issues as adult voters. In addition to the voting component, the program includes education on democracy, the electoral process, and how to register to vote. The Kids Voting Missouri 2010 schedule includes activities to learn about citizenship, the history of voting, as well as the candidates and issues in the next election. In October, all K-12 students will be asked to practice registering to vote, and students will learn more about candidates and issues appearing on the ballot. When election date arrives, they will also vote. While Citizens Education Clearing House and UMSL support Kids Voting Missouri, the program is almost 100-percent externally funded through public and private grants and gifts.

The Honorable Andrew Jackson Higgins (Deceased) 

Born in Platte City, Missouri in 1921, Judge Andrew Jackson Higgins graduated from Washington University School of Law. His career has led him to a variety of roles. He was the prosecuting attorney and a mayor in Platte County, a Circuit Judge, and served on the Missouri Supreme Court as a Commissioner, Judge and the Chief Justice. Judge Higgins retired as Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court in 1987, and until his death in 2011 was Of Counsel to the law firm of Inglish & Monaco in Jefferson City. Well known for his dedication to children’s justice, he provided support and leadership to Missouri Bar projects that have resulted in adoptions of modifications of Supreme Court Rules on Continuing Legal Education, Substance Abuse Intervention, and Child Support Awards. He also secured organization of the Missouri Supreme Court Task Force on Permanency Planning for Abused and Neglected Children and served as the group’s Chair until his retirement. Finally, working directly with the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, Judge Higgins led the effort to secure the adoption of Supreme Court Rule 111.03 establishing standards for the operation of juvenile detention facilities and removal of children from adult jail detention.

The Honorable Jimmie Edwards 

Judge Edwards is a circuit judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit in Missouri who was appointed to the bench in 1992. He was appointed to the Juvenile Division on January 1, 2007, and became Chief Judge of the St. Louis City Family Court in 2008. In the time that he has been at the Juvenile Court, Judge Edwards had made a significant impact in the lives of children in this community, as well as the community at large. In his role as Chief Judge of the Juvenile Court, he has improved the processing of child abuse and neglect cases by assigning a Deputy Juvenile Officer, responsible to the court, to every case; implemented time standards to ensure swift case processing of juvenile delinquency cases; and initiated other programs, including the Simon Foundation Transitions Program in partnership with MERS Goodwill. This program assist juveniles in obtaining a G.E.D. or a high school diploma, then places them in job settings.

 

 

2009

• John R. Barsanti, Jr. (Deceased)
• Dan Buck
• Ruth Ezell
• Ryan Hummert (Deceased)
• John G. Simon
• Hon. Francis G. Slay
• Charles A. Weiss
• Ronda F. Williams
• Samuel Sung H. You