Associate Circuit Judge

2008

Judge Farragut-Hemphill was appointed associate circuit judge on March 13, 1991, having received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Florida School of Law. From 1979 through 1986, Judge Farragut-Hemphill was a partner in the law firm of Cahill, White & Hemphill, in addition to serving as an adjunct professor at Washington University and St. Louis University Schools of Law.

Judge Farragut-Hemphill has extensive involvement in the Matthews-Dickey Boys Club and Girl Scouts Council of Greater St. Louis. She is a member of the American Bar Association Judicial Division, the Mound City Bar Association, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Womens Lawyers Association of St. Louis, the St. Louis County Bar Association, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Judge Farragut-Hemphill resides in St. Louis County and has two children.

Attorneys were asked to rank the judges on a scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (completely) on various standards of competency. Of the 16 criteria areas surveyed, the attorneys rated Judge Farragut-Hemphill 3.37 or below in 10 of the 16 categories. Of concern to the committee was Judge Farragut-Hemphill rating in competency in the law (3.0), rulings on dispositive motions stating reasons and consistently applying the substantive law (3.18) and understanding of procedures and rules of evidence (3.11). The committee also reviewed a written opinion of Judge Farragut-Hemphill in the form of a Findings and Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment. The opinion was clear and concise, well written and consistent with the applicable case law cited therein. There were two jury surveys also reviewed by the committee, with Judge Farragut-Hemphill receiving favorable responses on 19 of the 20 responses offered by the two jurors.