Missouri chief justice visits class at Cape Central High School

Supreme Court of Missouri Chief Justice Mary Russell visited the Advance Placement Government class Monday, Oct. 30, at Cape Central High School.

Russell gave a presentation on how a case arrives before the state Supreme Court.

Russell illustrated for the students how difficult it can be to get a case heard before the state Supreme Court. She said one job of the court is to determine whether a lower court's ruling adheres to how a state law is written.

Giving the students examples of some cases, Russell asked them how they would rule. Students who answered questions correctly got to try on her robe.

"This is my favorite part of my job," Russell said. "I love to come talk to students to inspire them about different career options and to challenge them to think about our laws and how they're applied."

Russell said growing up on a farm in Hannibal, Missouri, she never got the opportunity to speak to a judge when she was in school. She said she never even dreamed of being a judge at that time because "girls just didn't do that back in that day."

"I was like you. I was just a high school student. I never thought about being a lawyer. I didn't think I was smart enough. I was scared to speak in front of people," Russell said.

She told them she studied hard and got a scholarship to go to Truman State University and later received her law degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. She said after completing internships, clerking for a state Supreme Court justice, and practicing law for 12 years she was encouraged by mentors to apply to be a judge on the court of appeals.

"Most of my mentors were men, because there weren't any women judges," Russell said. "That's one of the reasons I love coming to schools like this. So I can encourage young women, as well as young men, so they can know being a judge and even chief justice of the Missouri state Supreme Court is not impossible."