Draper unretires to train St. Louis prosecutors

Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge George W. Draper III is returning to his roots at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore announced alongside the retired judge on Oct. 3.

Draper, who retired from the Supreme Court in August as he was about to hit the mandatory retirement age of 70, was a prosecutor for the Circuit Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1994 and was second-in-command for his last two years there. He will now serve as chief training officer, which is an entirely new position, starting Oct. 23.

According to Gore, his office’s new attorneys will receive “incomparable training” that will help them be better assistant circuit attorneys but will also serve them throughout their legal careers. Until the creation of the chief training officer position, the chief of misdemeanors oversaw the training of newer attorneys, but Gore created the new role to address a need to expand training opportunities and have Draper be a resource for all prosecutors, including Gore and his senior leadership team.

“Judge Draper’s knowledge, wisdom and commitment to service will play a vital role in our work to restore the public’s trust in this office,” Gore said. “I can think of no finer role model for those who answered the call to service as an assistant circuit attorney than my friend and distinguished new colleague, the Honorable George W. Draper III.”

In brief remarks, Draper said he hopes his experience will be useful and help the office better advocate for crime victims in St. Louis. He chose to take on this new role partly because he didn’t want to “sit at home and vegetate,” joking that his wife wanted him out of the house. On a more serious note, he said that the city is better when the Circuit Attorney’s Office works, and he wanted to be a part of that.

“This office has a really great history. My father was chief trial assistant here under Tom Eagleton. As I said, my wife and I got started here. This office means a lot to me, the reputation of it,” Draper said. “So when I was asked, it was kind of an easy decision.”

Asked about changes in prosecution over the years, the former judge said a lot is different than it used to be, particularly since a Ferguson police officer shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014.

“Post Ferguson, there have been quite a few changes in prosecution and also the way the judiciary looks at crime and punishment. As a member of the Supreme Court and on the Court of Appeals — but more on the Supreme Court, as I said, post-Ferguson — these changes began to happen. So I’ve seen them occurring,” Draper said. “I haven’t seen them at the trial level, of course. I’m sure there are some things I’ve got to learn. You also have to remember that I have a daughter who was a prosecutor in St. Louis County, so I heard of a few of those changes around the dinner table.”

Gore hopes that bringing in Draper will improve the office’s ability to hire attorneys directly from law school.

“I have made a number of offers to brand new attorneys right out of law school recently, so the timing of this is good because we are bringing on Judge Draper right when we are looking to add some brand-new attorneys for him to train,” Gore said.