Dykhouse is busy on, off campaign
Judicial candidate touts his range of experience.

For C.J. Dykhouse, the campaign for associate circuit judge in Boone County started in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant in New Jersey.

That’s where Dykhouse worked his first job, washing dishes. He was 13.

Since then, the 33-year-old attorney has never been unemployed. He’s mowed lawns, delivered newspapers and pumped gas. There were stints as a short-order cook, landscaper and electrician’s apprentice. When he was 18, Dykhouse worked as a personal trainer in a gym and once found employment at a ski slope.

"There is no such thing as unskilled labor," he said.

When Dykhouse came to Columbia to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia, he found a job at a local theater. By the time, he entered the MU School of Law, Dykhouse had been promoted to assistant manager of the theater. He would keep the job and take two others while he completed law degree, graduating cum laude in 1997.

Looking back, Dykhouse sees no better path than the one he has taken. His life is one of dogged determination and sheer will. Running for the new judgeship on the associate circuit bench is a logical step for Dykhouse.

"I think I can really make a difference," he said.

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

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

The youngest of four children, Dykhouse grew up in a rural area near Sussex, N.J. His father, Charlie Dykhouse - after whom he is named - was the branch manager of a Wonder Bread plant. His mother, Rose, stayed home with him, his brother and two sisters. Today, the whole family lives in Missouri - his siblings in the Kansas City area and his parents in Columbia.

C.J. Dykhouse was still an undergraduate working full time at the local theater when he started clerking for Columbia attorney Cullen Cline. Cline’s teenage son, who worked for Dykhouse at the theater, introduced the two.

Today, Dykhouse is a full partner in the law firm, handling a wide variety of criminal and civil cases as well as probate cases and family law. He has corporate clients, juvenile clients and is city attorney for Fayette and Hartsburg. Dykhouse also serves as a special prosecutor in Fayette and Columbia, where he can be appointed to prosecute felony and misdemeanor law violations.

"I am the only" Democratic "candidate who has successfully prosecuted and defended criminal cases," he said. "Debbie Daniels’ experience in criminal law is on the side of the state, and Cavanaugh Noce’s experience in criminal law is on the side of the defense. I’ve done all of those things, which brings insight, empathy and judgment."

Dykhouse said he has tried more than 400 cases, including two that were tried in front of a jury - one criminal case and one civil case. He represented clients in both cases with Cline.

Under Missouri law, an associate circuit judge has jurisdiction over all misdemeanor cases and all felony cases until they are bound over to circuit court for trial. Associate circuit judges also handle civil cases with damages claims as high as $25,000. Their state-paid salary is $96,000.

In 2005, associate circuit judges in the 13th Judicial District, which includes Boone and Callaway counties, disposed of 5,885 misdemeanor cases. Some 5,002 cases were settled through guilty pleas, six went to jury trials and 19 were decided by a bench trial. More than 700 cases were dismissed.

Cline was impressed with Dykhouse from the day the young undergraduate asked him for a job.

"He came to me with a request to learn about being a lawyer," said Cline, who hired Dykhouse to do small things around the office. "I saw right away that he had ability."

Over the years, Cline has watched Dykhouse mature into a talented lawyer, who he thinks would make "an excellent judge."

"C.J. is a very fair person and sincere," Cline said. "He’s also really smart."

Amy O’Keefe, a Boone County public defender who clerked for Dykhouse and Cline while in law school, said she is supporting her former employer because she thinks Dykhouse is best-qualified.

"He is the only candidate who knows every side," O’Keefe said. "He has the experience."

Cindy Mustard, executive director of the Voluntary Action Center, where Dykhouse is on the board of directors, said she was thrilled to serve as treasurer for his campaign committee.

"C.J. is very approachable," she said. "I am so impressed with the number of people who have worked with him, whether it’s a client or another attorney."

Dykhouse said he would bring to the bench a demonstrated commitment to the law as well as a commitment to the community and legal profession. "A legal reputation is fueled by intangibles like honesty, integrity and fair dealing," he said. "That’s important to me."

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

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