Lawrence J Permuter 21st Judicial Circuit (St. Louis County)

Recommendations

The 21st Circuit Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee recommends that Judge Lawrence J. Permuter BE RETAINED.

Position

Associate Circuit Judge

Evaluation Year

2014

Background

Judge Lawrence J. Permuter has been an associate circuit judge since June 17, 2008. He was assigned to an associate circuit court criminal docket until January 2013, when he transferred to a civil docket. He was a trial attorney in private practice for 35 years before being appointed to the bench, during which time he tried a variety of civil and criminal lawsuits. Judge Permuter served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1968 – 1974.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and his law degree from Washington University. He is a member of The Missouri Bar, the St. Louis County Bar Association, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis Lawyers Association, and the American Bar Association. He is also member of the Missouri Supreme Court Rules Committee. He and his wife reside in St. Louis County.

Discussion

Judge Permuter received above average scores in all areas by attorneys who responded to survey questions. Attorneys were asked to rate the judges on 19 criteria on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 representing “Strongly Disagree” and 5 representing “Strongly Agree.” Approximately 100 attorneys responded as to Judge Permuter, with the range of scores being 4.20 to 3.73. His highest ratings were for: being prepared for court (4.12); allotting the appropriate amount of time for each case (4.18); applying the rules of evidence relevant to the case (4.07); using courtroom time efficiently (4.07); and issuing timely rulings considering the amount of case law involved to make the decision (4.20). His lowest ratings were for assisting parties in narrowing key issues in dispute (3.73) and giving reasons for a ruling when needed (3.92).

Twenty jury surveys were returned with responses concerning Judge Permuter.  The juror surveys were answered “yes” or “no” on 10 separate criteria, with “yes” being a positive response and “no” being a negative response. Nineteen of the 20 jurors responded “yes” for all 10 criteria, with one juror answering “yes” for 5 of 10 criteria.

The committee did not receive any written opinions from Judge Permuter as, given the nature of his assignment, he does not typically have occasion to prepare written opinions in his cases.