April 30, 2009

Gov. Nixon appoints J. Dale Youngs to Circuit Judgeship in Jackson County

Gov. Jay Nixon today appointed J. Dale Youngs, of Kansas City, age 44, to serve as a Circuit Judge for the 16th judicial circuit in Jackson County. Youngs will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Circuit Judge John R. O'Malley.

Youngs has significant experience as a lawyer in both the public and private sectors. From 1996 to 2002, Youngs served in a variety of capacities in the Missouri Attorney General's Office, including work as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division; as Director of the High Technology and Computer Crime Unit; and as Chief Counsel for the office's Western Region. In these positions, Youngs handled or oversaw hundreds of investigations and cases regarding both civil and criminal matters.

Prior to joining the Attorney General's Office, Youngs was an attorney in private practice with the firm of Spradley & Riesmeyer from 1989 until 1996, focusing his work on litigation in the areas of business, commerce, personal injury and products liability. After leaving the Attorney General's Office in 2002, Youngs joined the firm Blackwell Sanders Pepper Martin, now named Husch Blackwell Sanders, where he has practiced in the fields of business and commercial litigation, government compliance and investigations. Youngs became a partner in the firm in 2006.

Youngs earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986 and a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1989.

Youngs was one of three applicants submitted to Gov. Nixon for consideration by the 16th Circuit Judicial Commission under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.