2010

Judge Hoff was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District in 1996. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education from the University of Missouri and received her law degree from St. Louis University.

Before her appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Hoff served as a circuit judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit from 1989-1996. She was an assistant public defender in the City of St. Louis (1978-1982) and then was in the private practice of law (1982-1989).

Judge Hoff’s community involvement includes serving as a Girl Scout leader of St. Margaret of Scotland, member of the St. Louis Forum for female executives and professionals, the school board for St. Margaret of Scotland, and the mothers clubs at Nerinx Hall High School and St. Louis University High School.

Her activities in the legal community include membership in the Women Lawyers Association of St. Louis since 1979 (president, 1986-87), the National Association of Women Judges since 1989, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis since 1980. As a judge, she has served on judicial committees, including the Appellate Education Committee since 1996 and the Family Court Committee since 2000. Judge Hoff has been a member of the Dean’s Council at St. Louis University Law School since 2000.

On The Missouri Bar’s 2010 Appellate Court Evaluation Survey, attorneys who responded to survey questions rated Judge Hoff on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing “not at all” and 5 representing “completely.”

Judge Hoff received her highest scores for being courteous toward attorneys (4.63), allowing parties to present their arguments and answers (4.49), and issuing timely opinions (4.48). Judge Hoff was not rated below a 4.00 in any category.

The committee also reviewed opinions written by Judge Hoff. Those opinions appeared to be in accordance with constitutional and statutory law. They were written in a straightforward fashion, and appeared to be consistent with precedent and statutes. In the case involving the most recent published opinion of Judge Hoff, in which she disagreed with the majority of judges hearing the case, the Supreme Court of Missouri reviewed the case and adopted Judge Hoff’s view.