Editor’s note: This article is reprinted from the Quad-City Times dated Saturday, December 10, 2016.
Trish Joyce has been appointed as a Resident Circuit Judge for Whiteside County[, IL,] in the 14th Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John L. Hauptman[, of Morrison, IL].
She will serve until December 3, 2018, when the position will be filled by the general election.
Joyce currently is the State’s Attorney for Whiteside County. She operated a solo practice from 2000 to 2012, concentrating on family law, bankruptcy, criminal law, wills and estates, and real estate. She also served as a part-time Assistant Public Defender and an Assistant State’s Attorney in both Lee and Whiteside Counties.
She will be the first female Circuit Judge from Whiteside County and the eighth female Judge in the 14th Judicial Circuit.
Joyce also was the first woman to serve as the President of the Whiteside County Bar Association and the first female Whiteside County State’s Attorney.
Joyce received her Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in Des Moines[, IA], where she was Editor-in-Chief of The Gavel.
The 14th Judicial Circuit includes Henry, Mercer, Rock Island, and Whiteside Counties.