Robin Ransom (formerly Robin Ransom Vannoy;
born July 21, 1967) is an American lawyer who serves as a judge of the
Supreme Court of Missouri. She was appointed to the court in 2021 by
Governor Mike Parson, and is the first African-American woman to hold the position. Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, Ransom served on the
Missouri Court of Appeals
The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri. The court handles most of the appeals from the Missouri Circuit Courts. The court is divided into three geographic districts: Eastern (based in St ...
for the Eastern District from 2019 to 2021 and served on the St. Louis Circuit Court from 2008 to 2019.
Early life and education
Robin Ransom was born on July 21, 1967 in
St. Louis,
Missouri.
Her father was a firefighter and social worker.
She graduated from
Rosati-Kain High School
Rosati-Kain High School is an all-girls Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. Rosati-Kain is accredited as a college preparatory school by the North Central Association, the Missouri Department of Education, and the Roman Catholic Archdioc ...
and
Rutgers University–New Brunswick's
Douglass Residential College with a
Bachelor of Arts in
political science and
sociology in 1988, and graduated from the
University of Missouri School of Law with a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1991.
Career
Ransom began her legal career as a
public defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
in
St. Louis County in 1992.
She became a
prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
in St. Louis County in 1995 and in 2002 was appointed as a juvenile
family court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
commissioner in St. Louis.
Also in 2002, she was appointed as an
associate justice by Governor
Bob Holden.
She was appointed to the St. Louis Circuit Court on September 11, 2008, by Governor
Matt Blunt.
Ransom's peers on the court unanimously elected her to serve as presiding judge in 2018, succeeding Michael Mullen; she was the first African-American woman to hold this position.
In 2019, she was appointed by Governor
Mike Parson to serve on the
Missouri Court of Appeals
The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri. The court handles most of the appeals from the Missouri Circuit Courts. The court is divided into three geographic districts: Eastern (based in St ...
for the Eastern District.
Parson appointed her to the
Supreme Court of Missouri on May 24, 2021; Ransom is the first African-American woman to serve on the court's bench.
She was one of 25 applicants for the position, and was selected from a field of three candidates put forward by a nonpartisan commission, as per the
Missouri Plan The Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, also known as the merit plan, or some variation) is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940 and has been adopted by many states of the United States. ...
.
After receiving the list of three candidates, Parson decided on Ransom within one day, though he had up to 60 days to finalize a decision.
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Ashley Bland Manlove
Ashley Jade Bland Manlove (born April 28, 1986) is a Democratic member of the Missouri General Assembly, representing the State's 26th House district.
Career
Bland Manlove won the Democratic primary election on August 7, 2018, garnering 77% of ...
, the chair of the
Missouri Legislative Black Caucus
The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, Inc. (MLBC) is an organization representing African American members of the Missouri Senate and Missouri House of Representatives. African American members of Missouri's 75th General Assembly (1969-1970) forma ...
, said the group was pleased by Ransom's appointment but thought "the fact that it took two centuries to happen highlights the continued need to address inequities in all aspects of Missouri's judicial system".
Former Missouri Chief Justice
Michael A. Wolff
Michael A. Wolff (born April 1, 1945) is the dean emeritus of Saint Louis University School of Law and a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri.
Early life and education
Wolff earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth Coll ...
praised Ransom’s selection.
Personal life
Ransom
bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
competitively, having bowled since the age of 11; in March 2021, she bowled a
perfect 300.
She tutors children for a local church's literacy program.
She is a member of the Juvenile Officer Performance Standards Work Group and the Missouri State Foster Care and Adoption Board, as well as a mentor of the nonprofit The Literacy Project.
See also
*
List of African-American jurists
*
List of African-American U.S. state firsts
*
List of judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri
References
External links
Robin Ransomon the Missouri Supreme Court website
*
Robin Ransomat Your Missouri Judges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ransom, Robin
1967 births
Living people
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American women lawyers
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American people
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
African-American judges
African-American lawyers
African-American women lawyers
American prosecutors
Circuit court judges in the United States
Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri
Lawyers from St. Louis
Missouri Court of Appeals judges
Municipal judges in the United States
Public defenders
Rutgers University alumni
University of Missouri School of Law alumni