Criminal Defense Lawyer in St. Louis
About St. Louis Criminal Defender, John D. Stobbs II
Hello, my name is John Stobbs and I am a lifelong resident of Alton, Illinois, which is located across the Mississippi river from St. Louis, Missouri. My Dad is a legendary Madison County trial lawyer and my brother Steve is a Madison County Judge. I cemented my family legacy as a lawyer by being elected President of the Madison County Bar Association in 2010.
Because I don’t believe in a “volume law practice” I average only 15-20 open files at a time. This allows me to give personal attention to a particular client’s case, and to personally see a case through to the end. I don’t believe in being hired by a client and then passing the case off to an associate to handle. If a client hires me, I do all of the work.
Criminal Defense Leadership in St. Louis
I have become a leader in the federal defense bars in the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri as witnessed by my being a part of the panels to retain and appoint Magistrates Cohn and Wilkerson respectively. I also have served on the retention committees for Federal Public Defenders Phil Kavanaugh in the Southern District of Illinois and Lee Lawless in the Eastern District of Missouri. In 2011 I was appointed by Chief Judge Catherine Perry to be the Criminal Justice Act Panel Representative for the Eastern District of Missouri. I have been an attorney for nearly 25 years and for over a decade have enjoyed an AV rating which is the highest rating given by Martindale Hubbell. I have worked with some of the best attorneys in St. Louis and elsewhere and am proud that these attorneys hold me in high regard.
I am proud to consider myself a trial lawyer, like my Dad, and average between one and two federal jury trials a year. In the very first jury trial I was appointed to, U.S.A. v. Martinez, 92-CR-40088-JLF I acted as co-counsel and my client was acquitted. I am equally as proud of an acquittal in U.S.A. v. Solares 94-CR-30064-WDS where the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case was my former trial advocacy teacher at St. Louis University.
I studied at St. Louis University receiving my Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1986 and Juris Doctoris degree in 1989. I spent several years studying in Madrid, Spain, first at la Universidad Complutense and then at a law program sponsored by William & Mary’s law school.
Upon graduating from St. Louis University I returned to Madrid where I worked at Zulueta y Asociados for one and one-half years. When I returned to the United States, I practiced general law with my Dad at Stobbs & Sinclair in Alton.
Because I speak Spanish fluently, I was contacted by the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Illinois to represent a Mexican Defendant pro bono. After the favorable result I achieved in this pro bono case, other Spanish speaking clients contacted me to represent them and the District Court began appointing me in other cases.
The Evolution of My Career
In part due to being a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panels, I have represented in excess of 800 criminal Defendants in federal courts in the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri. In recent years, my practice has evolved from representing clients charged with federal drug or gun crimes to white collar cases.
I have actively sought to improve the federal defense bars in the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri. In 2001 I began organizing yearly seminars which were dedicated solely to issues involving federal criminal practice in the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri. From 2002 through 2011 I hosted an annual dinner honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Dinner drew in excess of 150 people including judges, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and members of the criminal defense bar.
Of all my achievements, I am proudest of spearheading the renaming of the Alton Federal Courthouse in honor of Judge William L. Beatty who was a great man that influenced my life and career greatly. I was initially told that it would be impossible for all of the federal entities to act within the one year timetable I set, and due to the efforts of a great many people, the “Beatty Building” was dedicated within one year of Judge Beatty’s death. Click here to read the article (PDF) from The Alton Telegraph.
