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MEET TRAVIS
From Jefferson County, Serving Jefferson County
Travis has been a resident of Jefferson County for almost his entire life. Raised in Hillsboro, he graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1998. After high school, Travis was awarded a scholarship in debate and attended college at Southeast Missouri State University. As a sophomore at SEMO, Travis became the youngest student to ever win the National Educational Debate Association National Championship, and went on to earn degrees in Philosophy and Forensic Communication. After gradutating from SEMO, Travis attended law school at Mizzou, where he was awarded the R. David Ray and Jacob Y. Garrett Award for Trial Advocacy.
After law school, Travis returned home when he accepted a job as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Jefferson County. As a prosecutor, Travis applies his litigation skills to the public sector and serves his community in the courtroom. He has experience in all aspects of the criminal system and all manner of criminal cases ranging from traffic, assaults, drug possession, DWI, sex offenses and murder. Travis works with fellow attorneys, court staff, judges and law enforcement officers in order to prosecute cases on behalf of the State of Missouri and the citizens of Jefferson County. Travis is very proud of the fact that he has been in a position to seek justice for those citizens of Jefferson County who, through no fault of their own, were the victim of a crime. He is also proud to have worked with law enforcement to secure convictions of those who would commit offenses against the laws of Missouri and the citizens of our county.
In addition to his time as a prosecuting attorney, Travis served as Associate Circuit Judge for Jefferson County (by appointmnet to fill judicial vacancy) and spent time working in the private sector. He had the pleasure of working at Roberts, Wooten and Zimmer in Hillsboro where he had the opportunity to assist his clients with civil, domestic and contract cases. His time in private practice gave Travis skills and knowlege beyond that of the criminal justice system, and he gained valuable insight into navigation of the court system from a variety of perspectives and in a variety of areas of law.
As a result of his time in the private sector, on the bench, and in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Travis has gained extensive in court experience. As an Assistant Prosecutor, he had privilege of representing the State of Missouri in dozens of trials. As a private attorney he not only tried cases but also spent time dealing one on one with the clients he represented as they navigated the court system. These opportunities have given Travis insight into precisely how the court functions and what is required of judges for our county. His years of experience in Jefferson County have given Travis the tools needed to manage a courtroom effectively as a judge, as well as an understanding of the areas of our Court system that need improvement.
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Travis enjoys being active in the community. He has worked as an instructor at Jefferson College and Fontbonne University, where he taught Rules of Criminal Evidence and a senior-level course in communications. Travis and his wife Sarah live in Imperial with their two boys: Elliot (age 8) and Alex (age 6), and their dog Jake (age 1 year).