Jalilah Otto 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County)

Review

100% of the Committee voted Judge Otto substantially MEETS overall judicial performance standards.

21 Committee members voted “MEETS”
0 Committee members voted “DOES NOT MEET”

Position

Associate Circuit Judge

Evaluation Year

2016

Background

Associate Circuit Judge Jalilah Otto was appointed to Division 26 in January 2014.  At the time of her appointment, Judge Otto was serving as a chief trial assistant for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as a special assistant United States attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge Otto began her legal career in 2002 as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Lisa White Hardwick of the Missouri Court of Appeals. In 2005, she became an assistant prosecuting attorney with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. She joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010 where she prosecuted large-scale narcotic and gang cases. In 2013, she rejoined the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office as a chief trial assistant while maintaining her role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge Otto is a native of Kansas City and received her law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law. She also received her B.A. in communication and political science from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Judge Otto has also served as an adjunct professor at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley, and National American University.

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