For 46 years, legal trailblazer Sherrill Rosen has drawn on the Jewish concepts of tikkun olam and tzedakah while working to protect vulnerable children, seniors and domestic violence victims across Jackson County, Missouri.
From helping draft Missouri’s first adult abuse law as a Legal Aid attorney to presiding over more than 12,000 cases as a family court commissioner in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, the Jewish jurist worked unremittingly in the interest of justice, her colleagues said, guided in part by the Hebraic wisdom her family imparted.
“My grandfather instilled in me Jewish values like tzedakah, that you give of yourself,” Rosen, 70, said in a recent interview with The Chronicle. “You try to do the right thing, and you hope it makes a difference.”
Rosen, among the most decorated legal professionals in Missouri, retired last month after more than 30 years on the bench and a career that indelibly shaped adult abuse laws, guardian ad litem practice and family court practice in Jackson County.
A Kansas City, Missouri, resident and member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, Rosen presided over thousands of child custody, divorce, paternity and juvenile matters from her bench in the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence, Missouri.
Her career as a commissioner was preceded by 16 years of practice as an attorney, during which judges frequently appointed her as a guardian ad litem for children in family law cases. Handling many of the county’s most heart-wrenching cases, she earned a reputation as a compassionate, tireless advocate for vulnerable kids and adults.
Later, as a family court commissioner dealing with families in crisis, Rosen remained steadfast in her commitment to protecting children and seeking justice.
“You have to make those tough calls, always keeping the child’s stability and wellbeing as the top priority,” said Rosen, who’s chaired the Independence Coordinated Community Council on Domestic Violence in Independence for the past 25 years.
Long before making legal history with her work protecting domestic violence victims, Rosen was a talented student with an interest in Jewish learning. Born in Denver, Colorado, to parents Sandra Collinger Rosen and Maynord Rosen, she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and, at age 20, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The future commissioner was heavily influenced by her grandfather, Harry Collinger, a leader in St. Louis’ Jewish community. Collinger had graduated law school but saw his hopes of practicing dashed by the economic realities of the Great Depression.
In a move that made Collinger proud, Rosen set off for the University of Missouri School of Law and earned her J.D. in 1978. She landed a job with Legal Aid of Western Missouri and passionately represented domestic violence survivors in family law cases, among other clients.
A tenacious litigator, Rosen’s work led to her collaborating with then-State Representative Alan Wheat and others to draft Missouri’s first adult abuse statute. She also lobbied for passage of the landmark legislation, which created a legal mechanism to remove domestic abusers from victims’ homes.
The law paved the way for similar state statutes across the U.S. and helped shatter taboos surrounding domestic violence.
“These issues weren’t talked about at that time,” she said. “They were incredibly important to address.”
When Rosen used the new abuse statute to request an order of protection for a female client, a lower court denied her request and ruled the law unconstitutional, putting hard-won victim protections at risk.
The ruling set up a constitutional challenge to the statute in 1981, which Rosen also handled.
“I just happened to catch the case [that led to the challenge],” Rosen recalled. “I was working for Legal Aid at the time, and we had the resources to handle it. And frankly, it was pretty scary. If [defense of the statute] didn’t succeed, who knows what would have happened to all the other statutes across the country?”
The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the law in 1982, cementing Rosen’s status as a top-notch legal mind and, colleagues said, likely saving the lives of numerous abuse survivors.
After leaving Legal Aid in 1982, Rosen entered private practice and spent 12 years representing children and families in Greater Kansas City. Her trial and appellate work deeply impacted family law practice across the state, colleagues said, while her tireless advocacy for the vulnerable frequently led courts to appoint her as a guardian ad litem.
No statutory authority or blueprint for guardian ad litem practice existed in Missouri at the time. Working from scratch, Rosen pioneered the field in Jackson County and trained scores of professionals in the practices she’d developed.
Thousands of children have gained legal protection as a result of her efforts, her colleagues said.
“What’s wonderful about Commissioner Rosen – and what is an incredible testament to her character – is that she truly cared for the families [in her cases],” said retired Circuit Court Judge Marco Roldan, a longtime colleague of Rosen’s. “She stood out for her intelligence, her character, and by spreading her care not just to litigants but by educating other judges in how to do things the right way. She’s had a huge impact.”
When judges called upon Rosen to hear family court matters in Circuit Court in Jackson County in 1994, she was one of just a handful of women on the bench there at the time.
She also presided over Jackson County’s Success Court, a truancy prevention program aimed at helping youngsters stay in school.
“She pairs her legal acumen with a deep connection with children, a rare blend of talents that give her a unique ability to see children, to hear children, and to understand children,” former Circuit Court Judge Patrick Campbell wrote in a tribute to Rosen.
Rosen has won numerous awards for her work protecting families including the inaugural Hon. Kelly J. Moorhouse Dedication to Children Award (2013), the Missouri Lawyers Weekly Women’s Justice Award (2014), the Roger P. Krumm Family Law Award (2024) and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2024).
As she packed up decades worth of possessions in her chambers recently, Rosen said she’d introduced the Jewish concept of tikkun olam – repairing the world – to other legal professionals seeking to make a difference.
“Not that we can save the world as judges, but we can think about doing good and doing what’s right in these jobs, making the difficult decisions and just doing your best,” she said.
In recent weeks, Rosen has received emails from female lawyers who said she’d mentored and helped them become better attorneys. Others have reached out to say she made a positive difference in their lives.
“Justice is what love looks like in public,” Rosen said, quoting a Cornel West phrase that has long guided her work. “I’ve tried to live up to that.”
