Patricia Breckenridge

Patricia Breckenridge
Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri
Assumed office
September 2007
Nominated by Matt Blunt
Preceded by Ronnie L. White
Personal details
Born (1953-10-14) October 14, 1953
Nevada, Missouri[1]
Spouse(s) Bryan C. Breckenridge
Alma mater University of Arkansas
University of Missouri School of Law
Religion Methodist[2]

Patricia Breckenridge (born October 14, 1953) is a Judge on the Supreme Court of Missouri. She was born in Nevada, Missouri, and received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri. Governor Kit Bond appointed her as a judge in Vernon County, Missouri in 1982. She was subsequently elected to the position three times.

Then-Governor John Ashcroft appointed her to the Missouri Court of Appeals in 1990, and she was retained twice in general elections.[3]

Breckenridge was one of three candidates proposed by Missouri's Appellate Judicial Commission to governor Matt Blunt in 2007 to replace retiring Judge Ronnie White on the Missouri Supreme Court. Blunt expressed reservations about any candidate proposed by the Commission, but he favored Breckenridge over the two more liberal candidates and appointed her in September 2007.[3]

The appointment of Breckenridge was an important test for the Missouri Plan for selecting judges. Breckenridge (and Blunt's decision to appoint her) had been criticized by conservative interest groups.

In November 2008, after major newspapers obtained copies of emails within the Blunt administration they had requested since 2007 under the Sunshine Law, they reported that Ed Martin, Blunt's Chief of Staff from 2006 to November 2007, and head of the Missouri Republican Party since January 2013, used his office to try to encourage outside opposition to Breckenridge's appointment in 2007.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Official Manual of Missouri, 2009-2010
  2. ↑ Official Manual - State of Missouri 2003-2004
  3. 1 2 Young, Virginia (2007-09-08). "Blunt picks new high court judge Patricia Breckenridge's appointment means seven-member court will have three women for first time," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, hosted at Highbeam, Retrieved 2011-05-06
  4. ↑ "The e-mails that brought down a Republican Governor", 17 November 2008, accessed 12 September 2014
Legal offices
Preceded by
Ronnie L. White		 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri
2007–present 		Incumbent


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