The Firm is proud and excited to share that attorney Trisha McCulloch is running for Associate Circuit Judge, Division 6 in St. Charles in the 2022 election.  Trisha joined the firm in 2020 after successfully running her own practice in St. Charles since 2015, TEM Law, LLC.  Prior to that, she practiced family law in St. Charles at Todt, Ryan, and McCulloch with her father-in-law.

Trisha serves as the Vice President of the St. Charles County Family Resource Center and is a provisional judge for the Cottleville Municipal Court.  Trisha has extensive experience in a variety of legal areas including juvenile justice and family law.  Since 2014, Trisha has served as a contract guardian ad litem in St. Charles juvenile court. 

Trisha was born and raised in Wisconsin. She moved to Missouri in 2009 to attend UMKC School of Law, where she graduated with honors. Trisha and her husband Joe have three children (Jackson, Grayson, and Sadie) who attend school in the Francis Howell School District.

Q&A with Trisha

Why do you want to be a judge? 

"I believe I can have a greater impact and make a larger difference in the legal community as a judge.  I believe I have the temperament, drive, and compassion needed to provide fair and prompt justice.  My aspirations to become a judge started in law school in part due to my passion for legal writing.  Since graduating, I have primarily practiced in St. Charles and have established meaningful working relationships with attorneys and have developed respect and admiration for the judges. I cannot think of a better county to become a judge than St. Charles due to the outstanding and supportive legal community. "

How would you describe your judicial philosophy?

"I hope to interpret and apply the law in a fair and impartial manner while remaining respectful and conscientious. I believe that a judge should actively listen to the facts presented and apply the facts to the law. When applying the facts, I believe a judge should be conscientious of the case law established and, if necessary, clearly distinguish the facts presented to the judge if there is any deviation to the current case law. 

My judicial philosophy is to efficiently handle cases before me. Sensitive matters should be handled in a timely manner and in accordance with the rules established for such matters. Citizens deserve to know that the laws and rules were created for a purpose and will be followed by the judges. When there is an absence of rules guiding my process, I hope to create rules within my division to provide guidance to effectively manage cases. 

I will treat everyone with respect and dignity. Every case before me is important and will be given the time it deserves. Every final judgment requires review of the law and application of the facts to the law."

Briefly describe an issue that you have interest in working toward improving.

"I have devoted my career to improving the lives of children who are involved in the court system. Throughout my role as a contract Guardian ad Litem with juvenile court and on private cases, and my parent-attorney cases, the overarching problem I see is the time it takes for cases to be finalized. This leads to the lives of children being put on hold for months or even years, which ultimately takes a toll on their social, emotional, academic, and mental well-being. I would use my role to work on decreasing the amount of time it takes for a child custody matter to be resolved, work towards finding alternative methods for delinquency cases to be handled, and enforce the appropriate timelines for case goals in abuse and neglect cases. 

Along with improving the timeliness of the cases, I would work towards finding programs to assist the children through the court system. Children are often innocent bystanders and the ones most negatively impacted by the system.  We do not have enough services to offer to children and families going through the system to effectively have them leave the system unharmed or unaffected by the process. I would strive to order more mediation, co-parenting counseling, and family counseling to help families struggling to function as two separate units and come up with parenting plans that fit each family. In return, I believe this would help minimize the amount of families that return to court on a motion to modify."

Can you explain the election process in St. Charles?

 "St. Charles County has partisan elections.  Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation. The primary election takes place in August with the general election following in November. Associate Circuit Judges are elected to four-year terms and Circuit Judges are elected to six-year terms.  If elected, my job will be to remain fair and impartial."

Event with Trisha

The Firm is hosting a Meet and Greet with Trisha on September 29, 2021 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at our Clayton office.  Please RSVP to mccullochforjudge@gmail.com by September 24.  Masks required for those unvaccinated.