Carolyn C Whittington 21st Judicial Circuit (St. Louis County)

Recommendations

The 21st Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee recommends that Judge Carolyn C. Whittington BE RETAINED.

Position

Circuit Judge

Evaluation Year

2010

Background

Judge Whittington has been a circuit judge since 2002, and prior to that time served as an associate circuit judge since 1992. Judge Whittington served as the presiding judge from 2004 to 2008 and also handled a civil/equity docket during that time. From 2008 to the current time, Judge Whittington has handled civil/equity and criminal dockets and, in addition, in 2010 served as the deputy probate judge handling sexually violent predator cases.

Judge Whittington serves on the Missouri Supreme Court Committee on Procedure in Criminal Cases and is a past president of the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges and the Missouri Circuit Court Judges Association (immediate past president). She has also served on the faculty of State Trial Judge Education Programs. Judge Whittington received her BSJ degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and her law degree from St. Louis University. She is a member of The Missouri Bar and the St. Louis County Bar Association.

Discussion

Attorneys were asked to rate each judge on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. Approximately 544 attorneys responded with respect to Judge Whittington. Judge Whittington’s highest scores were: a 4.59 for treating people equally; a 4.59 for demonstrating appropriate demeanor on the bench; and a 4.61 for maintaining and requiring proper order and decorum in the courtroom. Her lowest scores were: 4.28 for clearly explaining all oral decisions; 4.29 for rulings on dispositive motions stating reasons and consistently applying substantive law; and 4.32 for effectively using pre-trial procedures to narrow and define the issues.

Eighty (80) juror surveys were returned with responses pertaining to Judge Whittington. Juror surveys were answered “yes” or “no,” with “yes” being a positive response and “no” being a negative response. Of the 10 criteria surveyed, Judge Whittington only received one negative response out of the 80 surveys received.

The committee also reviewed an Order and Judgment written by Judge Whittington in a civil case and found the order well-explained, clear, and consistent with the case law stated.