Noce emphasizes role of character
Judicial candidate found niche in juvenile law.

When Cavanaugh Noce decided to run for a new judgeship on the Boone County associate circuit bench, the 33-year-old Columbia attorney bought a comfortable pair of shoes and started walking.

So far, Noce has knocked on more than 7,000 doors in Boone County, including homes in Hartsburg, Harrisburg, Centralia, Rocheport, Sturgeon and a piece of every ward in Columbia.

He’s lost 15 pounds and gained an appreciation for what voters in the 13th Judicial District want from a judge.

"First, they want someone who will be fair," Noce said. "Second, they want someone who will listen."

Noce believes he is the embodiment of those qualifications. That’s why he has taken his campaign on the road, walking door to door and hoping to put a personality with his name.

"It’s all about character," he said. "It’s hard to know someone in a 30-second ‘sound bite’ or a pamphlet."

Noce is competing in the Aug. 8 primary against fellow Democrats Deborah Daniels, 55, a former Boone County assistant prosecutor, and attorney C.J. Dykhouse, 33. The winner will face Republican Richard Hicks, 38, or Dale Roberts, 53, in the general election on Nov. 7.

The term of the new Division 11 judgeship begins January 2007.

Noce grew up in southern Boone County, splitting his time between his parents’ farms, which were catty-corner from each other on opposite sides of the Bonne Femme Creek. Though his parents divorced when he was very young, Noce said his mother and father remained friends - and neighbors - allowing him the freedom to see both whenever he wanted. "It was wonderful," he said.

His mother, Kathleen Kerwin, still lives in the area. His father, Peter Noce, a well-known fiber artist, died five years ago of pancreatic cancer. His death reminded his son that a man’s life is what he makes it. "You learn to live life to the fullest," Noce said.

Though he grew up in the county, Noce attended Columbia schools - Ridgeway Elementary, Jefferson Junior High and Rock Bridge High School. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.

Eager for experience in the courtroom, Noce took a job straight out of law school with the Boone County public defender’s office. Overnight, he was a busy attorney. At his busiest, Noce said he was juggling 350 open cases. By the end of the year, he had closed 500 cases.

"You get a flavor how the system affects people, how the docket works," Noce said. "You could have five to six trials scheduled a week, of which two might go to trial. It’s rigorous."

However, while at the public defender’s office, Noce began carving a niche for himself defending juvenile cases. In the early 1990s, when he opened his own law office in Columbia, Noce began building his practice around juvenile cases as well as a wide variety of civil cases. He said he has been lead counsel in more than 50 trials and contested hearings.

"How many trials you’ve done doesn’t necessarily make you a good attorney," he said. "The goal is to resolve a case so that it is acceptable to all parties."

In 2005, the associate division in Boone and Callaway counties’ 13th Judicial Circuit, disposed of 5,885 misdemeanor cases. About 5,000 cases were settled through guilty pleas, six went to jury trial and 19 were decided by a bench trial. More than 700 cases were dismissed.

Noce said his experience is well-suited to the demands of being an associate circuit judge, who has jurisdiction over all misdemeanor cases and over felony cases until they are bound over for trial in circuit court. Associate circuit judges also handle civil cases with damage claims as high as $25,000.

Noce said that although juvenile cases are civil in nature, the cases become quasi-criminal when the court is certifying a juvenile to be tried as an adult.

"I’ve done the whole gamut," he said.

Columbia attorney Bob Murray met Noce while the candidate’s wife, Cindy Neagle, was clerking for Murray as a law school student. Later, Murray shared office space with Noce and helped him start a private practice. Over the years, Murray has grown to admire Noce’s passion for their profession.

"I think he is an outstanding attorney, and I think he would make an outstanding judge," Murray said. "He is very dedicated, passionate and puts a lot of thought into what he does.

"I think he is very good about looking at both sides of an issue," Murray said. "He will judge each case on its merits and give each party a fair shake. You can’t ask for more than that."

As an attorney for the juvenile office for the 13th Judicial District, Chris Wilson has often found himself working on cases in which Noce represents a juvenile client. Noce has earned his respect.

"Cavanaugh is a very sincere person and very dedicated to his clients," Wilson said. "He is very easy to work with. This profession can draw people with difficult personalities - big egos. Cavanaugh is not like that at all. We can agree to disagree, and I respect that about him."

Noce said the reality of the Division 11 race is that none of the candidates has judicial experience.

"There will be a learning curve for all of us," he said.

The secret to being an effective associate circuit judge is keeping a large docket moving without alienating the people involved in the system, Noce said.

"You’ve got to balance making them feel comfortable and keeping the system moving. It’s a fine line," he said. "Knowing where someone is coming from is very important to me - empathy. It’s kind of who I am."

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Reach Sara Agnew at (573) 815-1717 or sagnew@tribmail.com.

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