By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge Pat Robb has been clearing out his office and preparing for retirement after 38 years on the bench; 45 years total working in the Buchanan County Courthouse.
Robb served as assistant Buchanan County prosecutor, the lead prosecutor in many high-profile cases, before being elected Associate Circuit Judge in 1986. He won election as Circuit Judge two years later. Robb won re-election in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.
Robb, who is 69, faced mandatory retirement at age 70.
“I’m ready to take on new projects in retirement,” Robb tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post during an interview in his chambers. “Fortunately, I’m healthy. So, I’m looking forward to taking on the challenge of retirement, whatever challenge there may be.”
Most of those new projects are personal.
“I don’t have any professional goals in retirement,” Robb says. “I’ve always been interested, my wife and I, in traveling. So, I like to travel. I like to hike. And so, I plan to do a little bit more of that probably in the next few years. But, most of the time I’ll be at home. So, I’m hoping to find something perhaps that I can do in the community that would be something I would find rewarding and be helpful. So that’s probably my goal.”
Robb says he has little interest in serving as judge emeritus and taking on new cases, but says he will see what the Missouri Supreme Court offers.
We asked Robb if it seems like it has been 45 years.
“No, it does not,” Robb replies. “As I’ve reflected on it the last six months, as I’m approaching retirement, it just seems like it’s gone by very quickly. You keep showing up for work every day, doing the work, and next thing you know 45 years have gone by.”
Robb has seen a lot over that time, has learned a lot about being a judge, applying the law. Robb served as the 5th Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge from 1995 to 2018. Robb says he’s proud the Missouri Supreme Court recognized the circuit, which covers Buchanan and Andrew Counties, for its efficiency in dealing the cases before it, both criminal and civil.
Over the years, Robb has presided over many, many cases. Several stand out, but perhaps none more than a change of venue from Harrison County heard in the Buchanan County Courthouse. The suspect pleaded guilty, avoiding a trial. But the prosecutors wanted to talk to Robb.
“And they said, judge, I just wanted to give you a heads up before the sentencing hearing that the victim of the offense is going to be here for the sentencing hearing,” Robb recalls. “And I said, what do you mean the victim’s going to be here for the sentencing hearing? They go, well, the family has brought the victim’s ashes to the sentencing hearing. They want to be present, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay with it.”
Robb gave his okay as long as the victim’s family did not turn it into a demonstration in the courtroom.
“I went out and had the sentencing hearing and they had a little urn sitting in one of the chairs in the front row of the courtroom during the sentencing hearing of the defendant.”
Robb says the biggest misconception the public has about judges is that they are the law.
“I make a decision how the law applies to the particular facts they might present to me as a judge or I might instruct the jury, if it goes to a jury trial, on what the law is and let the jury decide what the facts are and who should recover, who should win in that case,” Robb says, pointing out it is the Missouri General Assembly that makes the law.
Robb says he does understand the decisions he makes during a trial or during sentencing touches people’s lives.
“Those are important decisions. I understand those impact people greatly, potentially, them and their families,” Robb says. “Those do weigh on you and they haven’t gotten easier as you get older. You realize the kind of decisions judges make do impact people’s lives. That’s one part of my job I will not miss.”
Robb says the dedication to the day-to-day work makes for a good judge.
“A judge that’s one willing to listen and willing to work,” according to Robb. “Willing to be there and have the tribunal move cases, listen to people, not be impatient with the process, but make sure that we understand, if you’re filing a case in court, that we’re moving toward adjudication.”
Robb says he doesn’t think much about any legacy he might leave.
“Feel like I was a fair judge. I think most people do. And that I was a hard worker and that I ran an orderly court. That’s kind of what I want.”
Robb’s influence went beyond the Buchanan County Courthouse. He served as chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Procedure in Criminal Cases and on the Presiding Judges’ Executive Committee.
Robb serves his last day on the 31st.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.