Judge Patricia Breckenridge: New Supreme Court website will foster civic education

Judge Patricia Breckenridge poses in the Missouri Supreme Court building.
Judge Patricia Breckenridge poses in the Missouri Supreme Court building.

For Missouri Supreme Court Justice Patricia Breckenridge, promoting better civic education is an abiding passion.

"Missouri's courts touch so many lives - with more than 1 million cases being filed each year," Breckenridge said. "But many people lack an understanding about their courts. Research shows that people know more about popular reality television shows than they do about the three branches of government, or how a case is decided in a court of law."

This month, the court's Civic Education Committee launched a new website devoted exclusively to providing user-friendly information about Missouri's courts and judges. Called "Discover Missouri Courts," it can be found at www.courts.mo.gov.

Not only is the website a great resource for judges who need to make presentations to civic groups, it is also meant to be a place where students, teacher and the general public can learn more.

One of the topics explored is "The Battle of Skokie," which examines the controversial First Amendment confrontation between member of the American Nazi Party and a pre-dominantly Jewish community. It also examines the activities of the Westboro Baptist Church to make the information relevant to today's news.

Another is entitled "Guilty Plea," and aims to explain how the often misunderstood plea plays a significant role in the expeditious administration of justice.

She said, for herself, every time she was asked to make a presentation, it was like reinventing the wheel. Sometimes she'd hit her stride and connect with the audience. Other times, she'd miss.

"I knew other judges felt the same way," she said.

The new website is chock full of materials judges can use to illustrate and support their remarks. And, for teachers, the materials have been designed to support the public educational standards.

The project has been fairly massive; the main committee has been divided into about 13 subcommittees, each one tasked with a different focus.

Some of those committees have worked to revamp tours at the Supreme Court's building on High Street. (Former tours stressed the building's architecture; today's better explain the justice system.) Other committees are working with Missouri colleges or crafting program for adults or organizing a speakers' bureau, etc.

Breckenridge's interest was sparked, in part, by the advocacy of Stephen Zack, past president of the American Bar Association, and Sandra Day O'Connor, a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Zack - whose family fled from Cuba when he was teen - was struck by the idea that the Cuban Constitution mirrors the United States'.

"He always keeps a copy of the Cuban Constitution on him, as a reminder: It isn't the words on the paper ... it's the commitment to the words by the citizens," she said. "Because of my own interest and passion for (civic education), it resonated with me."

Ninth-grade civics teacher Marie Butner also sparked Breckenridge's interest in the law.

"She was almost scary, she was so stern," Breckenridge recalled. "But she inspired her students to care and she gave us the foundational principals of our government. But for her instilling in me such a respect for the Constitution, I don't think I would be a judge today."

Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2007, Breckenridge previously served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, from 1990 to 2007.

Born and raised in Nevada, Mo., she is married to Bryan Breckenridge. Together, the couple enjoys music and movies. She has also served a a long-term mentor to children through St. Vincent's Operation Breakthrough Day Care Center in Kansas City.