Courting success - Young lawyers enjoy prosecuting Cape cases

Twenty years ago, Gordon Glaus and Jack Koester shared crayons in the same kindergarten class. In July, they sat together at the Missouri bar exam. Now, they seek justice together at Cape Girardeau County Courthouse as assistant prosecutors.

Glaus, 25, was hired in October to fill a vacancy left earlier this year by Lora Cooper, now an assistant prosecutor in New Madrid County.

After assistant prosecutor Scott Lipke won the November election for state representative, Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle asked Glaus if he had any recommendations.

"Jack was the first person I thought of," he said. "When Morley said he was having trouble finding someone, I knew exactly who to name."

Koester, 26, joined the staff earlier this month, after having interned at the St. Louis County prosecutor's office, he said.

Swingle said Glaus and Koester have had a "synergistic effect" on all the attorneys in his office.

"We prosecutors can get set in a routine after so many years," he said. "You tend to almost become immune to being shocked at crimes. But new prosecutors will read a police report and say, 'Oh, this is horrible. We should file on this!' and they get shocked because it's all new to them."

When Swingle was reviewing applicants, he wanted lawyers who were hungry to conquer the courtroom, not just out to land a steady job.

"When I'm interviewing, I look for young lawyers who want to want to become trial lawyers," Swingle said. "Both of these guys fit the bill because they really wanted to try cases."

First-year prosecutors make $31,434 after six months of successful performance, Swingle said. An assistant prosecutor can earn $47,395 with four years of experience and having completed 200 bench trials, 20 jury trials, 15 search warrants and 10 hearings to suppress evidence or testimony.

"We have a great deal of flexibility in how we handle cases," Glaus said. "When I got the job, Morley told me it would be on-the-job training and that I would not have to carry his briefcase around and have my nose stuck in a law book all the time."

Friends through college

Glaus and Koester graduated in 1995 from Pattonville High School in northwest St. Louis County. Both later graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia with degrees in political science. They remained friends through college but socialized little. Koester stayed on in Columbia to earn his law degree, but Glaus earned his at St. Louis University.

Three years passed until they saw each other again at bar exam.

"Twenty years after meeting in kindergarten, to find ourselves sitting right next to one another, it was a strange coincidence," Koester said.

Their chance meeting was fortunate for Koester, who suddenly realized he forgot to bring a pencil.

"That's preparation for ya," he said, chuckling. "Of course, Gordon had about 20."

Glaus spent last summer in Jefferson City as an student lobbyist for the University of Missouri at Columbia. During college, he volunteered with a public interest law group, sometimes helping elderly citizens with tax forms. But becoming a prosecutor was one of his main goals since he started law school, he said.

Koester spent two internships at the St. Louis County prosecutor's office, feeling out a criminal law career as he worked for the office's trial lawyers.

"I interned there so I could know and see the day-to-day aspects of the job and ask myself if this was what I really wanted to do with my life," Koester said. "And it seemed like a good opportunity to contribute to society."

On the job

Since October, Glaus has had a few significant firsts. He co-prosecuted his first jury trial this month with assistant prosecutor Ian Sutherland. It was a robbery case that ended in a guilty verdict -- his first win.

"Just being there, getting to watch the jury being selected and watching a seasoned attorney like Ian and the strategy he used was exciting," Glaus said. "It was overwhelming, sure, but it was also fun."

In addition, he filed his first felony search warrant for a cocaine case on Friday.

"It's a blast," Glaus said. "It's fun and a good time. I tell people I know that all the time, but they don't believe me."

Having only been on the job for about two weeks, Koester is admittedly a bit awed by it all. But he's eager to get involved in as many cases as he can.

"Just walking into the courtroom can give you an adrenaline rush right now, even if it's just for an arraignment," Koester said. "We haven't had enough time to get bored."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160