Jack Goodman (born September 9, 1973) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, representing the 29th District between 2005 and 2012. He is currently a Circuit Judge for the 39th Judicial Circuit, which consists of

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, and

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

counties.

Biography

Jack Goodman grew up in

Pierce City, Missouri Pierce City, formerly Peirce City, is a city in southwest Lawrence and northwest Barry counties, in southwest Missouri, United States. The population was 1,292 at the 2010 census. In 2010, the town annexed property along Route 97 into Barry Count ...

, and graduated from Pierce City High School in 1991. He attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, where he earned his bachelor's degree in Philosophy in 1995 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1998. After graduating from law school, Sen. Goodman served as an assistant

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for Dade County, Missouri until 2002, when he was elected to his first term in the Missouri House. Then-Representative Goodman represented the 132nd District, covering almost all of Lawrence County. During his three-year House tenure, Sen. Goodman rose in the House ranks to serve as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader. In the summer of 2005, Senator Larry "Gene" Taylor died less than one year into his first term in the Missouri Senate. Jack Goodman was nominated by the Republican Party to run in the special election to succeed Sen. Taylor. In his first race for the Missouri Senate, Goodman was elected to serve the remainder of that term ending in 2009, beating his Democratic opponent by 35 point

In the 2008 election, Senator Goodman ran for a second term in the Missouri Senate. No candidate of any party chose to challenge him in his reelection bid. The 29th District, which he represents, includes McDonald County, Missouri, McDonald, Lawrence,

, Taney and

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

counties. Sen. Goodman also represents

Branson Branson may refer to: Places ;Canada * Branson, Toronto ;United States * Branson, Missouri, a popular tourist destination in the Ozark Mountains * Branson, Colorado * Branson City, California * The Branson School, in Ross, California * Warrenpoi ...

. In addition to his duties as Assistant Majority Leader, Sen. Goodman chairs the General Laws committee. He also serves as vice-chair of the Judiciary committee and is a member of the Job, Economic Development, and Local Government; Small Business, Insurance and Industry; and the Select Committee on Oversight of the Federal Stimulus. On the Stimulus Oversight Committee, Sen. Goodman serves as the majority party's point man on stimulus dollars allocated for judicial and law enforcement issues. In early 2009, U.S. Congressman Roy Blunt announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond. Blunt's announcement leaves a vacancy in Missouri's 7th Congressional district in 2010. Senator Jack Goodman has announced his candidacy for the seat and is often mentioned as a leading contender to succeed Rep. Blun

He currently lives in

Mount Vernon, Missouri Mount Vernon is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,575 as of the 2010 census. It was estimated to be 4,960 by the City of Mount Vernon on July 1, 2020. History Mount Vernon was platte ...

with his wife, Laura, and two sons, Jack Elliott and William True Goodman.

Major Legislation

During his time in office, Sen. Goodman sponsored several high-profile bills that have gained national attention. Sen. Goodman was the author of Missouri's Castle Doctrine, which allows homeowners to use lethal force against illegal intruders. The Stop Meth Act was also signed into law and gives law enforcement officials a wider range of tools to respond to the growing domestic production of methamphetamine. In the 2008 legislative session, Sen. Goodman sponsored Senate Bill 1194, which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for criminals convicted of forcible rape of a child under twelve years of age. This issue had gained national attention since the Supreme Court heard

Kennedy v. Louisiana ''Kennedy v. Louisiana'', 554 U.S. 407 (2008), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits imposing the death penalty for the rape of a chi ...

(2008). In 2009, Sen. Goodman introduced an altered version of that bill, which would give life imprisonment without the possibility of parole to any person convicted of forcible rape of a child under twelve years of age.

Congressional Campaign

Senator Goodman announced on February 27, 2009 his intention to run for the United States Congress seat then held by Congressman

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Sec ...

. Goodman finished second in polling behind eventual winner

Billy Long William Hollis Long II (born August 11, 1955) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 7th congressional district since 2011. The district includes much of the southwestern quadrant of the state and is a ...

with 30,401 votes and 29.1%.
August 4, 2010

References

External links

39th Judicial Circuit CourtProject Vote Smart - Senator Jack Goodman (MO)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Jack Goodman
200620042002
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Jack Republican Party Missouri state senators Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Missouri state court judges 1973 births Living people People from Aurora, Missouri People from Pierce City, Missouri People from Mount Vernon, Missouri