Tom Jacquinot named 2024 ‘Defender of Distinction’

Tom Jacquinot, a state public defender in Kansas City, received the 2024 Defender of Distinction Award from the Missouri Public Defender Commission.

Jacquinot will receive his award in St. Louis during the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar and Judicial Conference, Sept. 18-20.

Jacquinot has been a state public defender for 27 years, focusing on capital litigation. He also practiced in Kansas as an appellate public defender and as a clinical instructor at the University of Kansas’ Defender Project.

Jacquinot recalled one career highlight – righting Dick Dexter’s wrongful conviction and death sentence.

“Dick had worked in an auto plant applying specialty paint to new Ford trucks,” he said. “Our office was assigned to his retrial. After three years of intensive litigation, the state finally dismissed all charges, and Dick became our state’s first death row exoneration. On the first day of his freedom, I drove Dick to his mother’s home in a Ford minivan.”

Click here to learn more about annual awards presented by The Missouri Bar, the Missouri Bar Foundation, and other entities. Read about other 2024 award winners here.