Public Service: Hon. Laura Johnson

Presiding Judge, 38th Judicial Circuit Court

Ozark

After spending 25 years in private practice, Presiding Judge Laura Johnson was ready for a new career challenge. 

Being a judge, Johnson explains, gives her the opportunity to be exposed to more areas of the law. As a private practice attorney, Johnson worked primarily in employment law. 

“Part of being a judge is every day, I will have criminal law matters, civil law matters or family law matters,” she said. “It’s really interesting to me to always be learning new areas of the law.”

Being on the bench allows Johnson to not only practice the art of law but have a direct hand in changing peoples’ lives. 

“I didn’t foresee that as being part of being a judge,” she said. “The social work aspect that comes with helping people who are struggling on probation, helping them get back on track.”

Johnson presides over multiple treatment courts, dealing with both drug abuse and DWI cases. Johnson paints a grim picture of those who come through the treatment court program, many of whom are unhoused or unemployed, and estranged from their families or children.

“I really believe that I make a difference in the lives of a lot of those people,” she said. “By the time they graduate, it’s not unusual for those people to have a job. They have a place to live. They are either reunited or in the process of reuniting with their children.”

Johnson has helped rehabilitate countless lives through treatment court and said people still share their story with her to this day. 

“I just love it when I’m out walking down the street and somebody will walk up to me and they’ll say, ‘You may not remember me, but you sent me to the Department of Corrections for 120 days, and I hated you, but that was the best thing that ever happened to me,’” she said.

Moving forward, Johnson hopes to remove barriers for former felons to reintegrate back into society. 

“I firmly believe that people should be held accountable for their crimes, but I also believe that the life of a convicted felon is very, very difficult, and it doesn’t always have to be,” Johnson said.