Zonta Celebration Award: Abbie Crites-Leoni

Our Celebration Award honoree is the Honorable Abbie Crites-Leoni who, in February 2014, became the first female federal judge appointed to work full-time in Cape Girardeau. Prior to assuming her judicial duties, Crites-Leoni spent more than a decade as an attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. specializing in prosecuting cases involving drug trafficking, child exploitation and government program fraud.

Crites-Leoni is a 1993 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Spanish and theater. She later earned a law degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and began her legal career in 1998 as an assistant prosecutor in Cape Girardeau County.

When asked the reason she chose to pursue criminal law as a career, Crites-Leoni readily admits that “it wasn’t the plan initially,” but she fell in love with the human-interest aspect of criminal law in law school and everything else just followed. While she enjoyed her work as a prosecutor, and for many years believed that she would just “stay in that lane” and become a career prosecutor, the retirement of her predecessor created an opportunity for her to play a different role in making the community a safer place- a role which she has embraced.

Photo by: DeAnna Arevalo, Cape Girardeau Photographer

Photo by: DeAnna Arevalo, Cape Girardeau Photographer

As a United States Magistrate Judge, Crites-Leoni handles both criminal and civil cases. In addition to presiding over cases in the District Court, she presides over the Supervision to Aid Reentry (STAR) Court, a program designed to assist individuals who have completed a federal prison term and have a high risk of reoffending to successfully reenter the community. Crites-Leoni believes that the rehabilitation efforts of this program are “worth the investment.”

Although she was a theater major, Crites-Leoni had dreams of being a lawyer while still in high school. She credits her parents for instilling in her the confidence to go after her dreams and supporting her in her journey from becoming a lawyer to becoming a judge. In achieving her own dreams, she has become a role model for young women, and she believes that "We need to encourage our daughters, mothers and friends who are female to have a positive impact around the world."

Active in many professional, civic and charitable organizations, Crites-Leoni served as president of the Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and has also served as president of the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau, spearheading the club’s Centennial Gala celebration.

Southeast Missouri State University has been an integral part of Judge Crites-Leoni’s life. She enjoys serving the university by sitting on advisory boards, speaking to student groups and teaching. She is a founding Redhawks level member of the Southeast Alumni Association, a member of the Copper Dome Society, recipient of the Alumni Association’s 2008 Young Alumni Merit Award and the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Service Award.

She and her husband, Southeast Professor Emeritus of Health, Human Performance and Recreation Dr. Edward Leoni, have operated and sold two small businesses, The Waters Edge – A Wedding and Event Retreat, and a custom-building company, Edward Abbie Builders. They have three children and seven grandchildren.