Hon. David Mason
22nd Judicial Circuit Court
Judge David C. Mason, circuit judge for St. Louis City, first conceived the Freedom Suits Memorial, unveiled on June 20 in St. Louis. This sculpture represents the freedom suits and the courageous individuals that were involved in them, roughly 400 slaves who petitioned the Missouri courts for their freedom and those who took up their cause. It is situated on the east side of the Civil Courts Building, between it and the Old Courthouse, where most of the suits were tried.
Judge Mason was appointed circuit judge in August 1991 and was retained in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. He earned his B.S. from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law.
Prior to his appointment, Judge Mason served as an assistant attorney general, general counsel to the Missouri Department of Corrections, and was in private practice. Judge Mason has been a teacher of trial advocacy for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Yeshiva University Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and several bar associations. He also has served as an adjunct professor of law at Washington University School of Law since 1989.
Judge Mason has advanced the cause of minority participation while serving on numerous boards including the Affordable Housing Commission, St. Patrick Center, and Affordable Housing Commission.
Judge Mason is married with two children.
