G. Joseph Pierron (born May 16, 1947) is a former American judge of the
Kansas Court of Appeals
The Kansas Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Kansas.
History
The Kansas Legislature created the first Kansas Court of Appeals in 1895, to help the Kansas Supreme Court with an increasingly heavy casel ...
, serving from 1990 to 2020.
Background
George Joseph "Joe" Pierron Jr. was born to George Joseph Pierron Sr. and Rosemary Pierron on May 16, 1947, in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
. He graduated from
Olathe Senior High School in 1964,
Rockhurst College
Rockhurst University is a private school, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is School accreditation, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It ...
of
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, in 1968 and the
University of Kansas School of Law
The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had exi ...
in 1971. Judge Pierron married Amy Dennis in 1976; she died in 2000. They had three children. Pierron is married to
Diana Carlin Pierron, a retired university professor and administrator; they reside in Lawrence, KS.
Career history
Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals in 1990, he served as a district judge in Olathe from 1982. In the years prior he served as an assistant county and district attorney in
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...
, from 1971. He also served as municipal judge of Spring Hill in 1972. He retired from the Court of Appeals on April 3, 2020.
Charitable service and Honors
Judge Pierron has served as President of the Kansas Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and on the board of directors of the Kansas Children's Service League. He serves on the
Kansas Bar Association
The Kansas Bar Association (KBA) is a voluntary, non-profit bar association for the state of Kansas with the headquarters located in The Robert L. Gernon Law Center at 12th and Harrison St. in Topeka. The KBA has approximately 6,500 members and ...
Law Related Education committee and is a member of the
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
Judicial Administration and Alternative Dispute Resolution sections. He served as chair of the Bicentennial Commission on the United States Constitution for Johnson County. He served as chair of Kids Voting Kansas, founded by former Governor
Bill Graves
William Preston Graves (born January 9, 1953) is an American former politician who was the 43rd governor of Kansas from 1995 until 2003.
Career
Graves was born in Salina, Kansas to parents who owned a trucking firm. After graduating from Kans ...
and Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh. Kids Voting is a state chapter of Kids Voting USA, an organization to encourage voting through education in the schools and parallel mock elections held in official polling places during regular elections.
Judge Pierron has received leadership and public service awards from the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the Kansas Children and Youth Advocacy committee, the Kansas Corporation for Change, the Olathe Police Department, the Olathe Medical Center, and the Olathe
Jaycees
The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI) ...
and the Leavenworth, Kansas Bar Association. He received the Junior League of Topeka Community Volunteer Award in 1998, the Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Service Award in 1999 and the Liberty Bell Award from the Shawnee County Bar Association in 2002 and 2014, and the State Department of Education Civic Education Partnership Award in 2008. In 2009, Judge Pierron received the first Kansas Boys' State Governor's Award for outstanding leadership, public service and dedication to the youth of Kansas. In 2010, he was named to the Olathe High School Wall of Fame. In 2011, he was awarded the first Kansas District Judges Association community outreach and education award. In 2011, he received the American Bar Association Burnham (Hod) Greely Award, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to promoting public awareness of the importance of a fair, impartial and independent judiciary." In 2015 he received a community service award from the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka. He joined Rotary International in 1971, served as president of the Olathe Rotary Club, and is a member of the Downtown Topeka Rotary club and a Paul Harris Fellow.
References
External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20070106073841/http://www.kscourts.org/ctapp/gjp_coaj.htm: Kansas Court of Appeals Biography
http://www.ku.edu: University of Kansas
https://web.archive.org/web/20061208105649/http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/12143res20050308.html: ACLU Case File
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierron, Joseph
1947 births
Living people
People from Kansas City, Kansas
Rockhurst University alumni
Kansas lawyers
Kansas Court of Appeals Judges
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges