Our Story
We believe your goals and opportunities shouldn’t be held hostage by one mistake.
You can rely on us to pursue all legal options as we work to protect your future.
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The Team You Want On Your Side
We aggressively defend our clients against misdemeanor and felony offenses because we believe that a single mistake should not dictate your future. When you hire Wampler & Passanise, you get a team of legal professionals focused on your case.
Joseph S. Passanise
MANAGING PARTNER
Thomas Carver
OF COUNSEL
Wampler & Passanise
LEGAL TEAM
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Joseph S. Passanise
From the time he was five years old, Joe Passanise knew he wanted to be a lawyer. He just didn’t know what type of law he wanted to practice. In the late 1980s, Passanise became a runner for Wampler, Wampler & Catt while a student at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State). The firm had been originally founded in 1973 by attorney Dee Wampler and his father Homer. In 1982, Larry Catt joined the two, and they chose to specialize in criminal defense, which wasn’t the norm for law firms then.
Passanise was given the opportunity to help investigate cases and handle communications between the firm, prosecutors, and the courthouse. He learned the legal and operations sides of the business from his friend and mentor, Dee Wampler. The mentor had established himself as a leader in criminal defense after serving as the Prosecuting Attorney for Greene County. In fact, Wampler was one of the youngest prosecutors ever elected to that position.
Wampler taught Passanise how attorneys can positively impact a client’s life. Those facing charges are often dealing with underlying problems like addiction and mental health issues. The firm strived to make a difference in the lives of its clients.
After law school, Passanise joined as an Associate Attorney. In the early 2000s, he and Dee Wampler decided to create a new practice geared more toward trial work and litigation. In 2002, Wampler & Passanise moved to its current location.
Recognized Nationwide For High-Quality Counsel
Joseph S. Passanise has a deep understanding of state and federal criminal laws. He has successfully represented individuals in a range of matters spanning DWI violations to white collar criminal charges to drug offenses and other serious violations. Trial-tested, he provides high-quality advocacy in municipal, state and federal courts.
- Lifetime Achievement, America’s Top 100 Attorneys
- Top 100 Trial Lawyer, The National Trial Lawyers, awarded 2007-present
- Selected for inclusion to the Super Lawyers list in Missouri and Kansas from 2006 to 2019
- 2018 Lawyer of the Year, Missouri Criminal Defense for white collar defense
Committed To The Community
Longtime resident of the area, Joe works to better the community. He delivers speeches at churches, colleges and professional organizations, discussing social justice and safe practices. Joe volunteers his time at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks and the Theta Chi Iota Beta alumni board of directors.
Our lawyers view their profession as their vocation, striving to improve lives in and out of the criminal justice system. Their experience and local insight can give you an advantage when you are grappling with a challenging legal issue.
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Thomas Carver
Thomas Carver will soon enter his 48th year of practicing law in the state and federal courts of Missouri. His portfolio includes representation of over 300 clients in federal cases and literally thousands of clients in Missouri state courts. He has faced the ultimate challenge in serious and life-changing cases on many occasions including the representation and trial of individuals accused of capital murder in federal court.
The representation of defendants in capital cases imparts a deep understanding of the law when lives are at stake. The wisdom gained in high stakes criminal cases has benefited thousands of his clients who have sought his help in other serious felony cases. The breadth of his experience runs from capital defense to complex white-collar criminal defense, large drug conspiracies, sex crimes, and extensive familiarity with criminal tax matters involving the IRS and state taxing authorities.
He is admitted to practice in all Missouri courts and has been a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar since 1993. He is also a member of the federal bars for the United States Eastern and Western Districts and the United States Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Aside from literally thousands of state court trials, he has represented litigants in over 70 appeals in state and federal appellate courts and has received the Robert Duncan Award for Appellate Excellence from the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Other awards include being named to Best Lawyers in America and Missouri Kansas Super Lawyers for at least a decade along with selection as the “Lawyer of the Year” on five different occasions in the area of criminal defense. Recently, he was awarded the Bernard Edelman Tradition Award for mentoring young lawyers with an interest in criminal defense and is a past president of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He serves on the board of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation and is a past board member of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.
Perhaps the greatest assurance clients can have when they entrust their fate to Attorney Carver comes from the legal publication and rating service Martindale-Hubbell/Lawyers.com. It is the oldest and most respected lawyer rating service in the United States. Prior to and after the advent of the internet, Martindale-Hubbell has served as the “go-to” rating service when lawyers and individuals look to find competent representation in unfamiliar locations around the United States. It rates lawyers’ ethical and legal abilities. The highest rating is “A.V.,” which indicates “the highest possible rating in both legal ability and Ethical Standards.” The A.V. rating indicates the ultimate in respect from a lawyer’s peers and is the gold standard when individuals are searching for the best possible representation available. Thomas Carver holds the A.V. rating. Those who have obtained an A.V. rating have achieved it because they have accepted the responsibility of providing the very best representation possible for their clients.
When asked about representing defendants in criminal cases, Carver said: “A lot of people who come to see me, symbolically come carrying a big bag of rocks on their shoulder. My job is to take it off their shoulder and to put it on mine. I take great pride in accepting their burden as my own and try as hard as I can to lighten their load. A federal judge once commented to me, when reflecting on why lawyers take on the challenges of criminal defense, that many times a lawyer is the only person between the client and the wolf at the door. It is with that spirit and attitude that I try to serve my clients.”
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Missouri, 1973
- U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri, 1973
- U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1987
- U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1987
- United States Supreme Court, 1993
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1994
EDUCATION
- University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
- J.D. – 1973
- University of Arkansas
- B.S. – 1970
- Major: Political Science
HONORS & AWARDS
- Robert Duncan Award for Appellate Excellence, 2003 – Present
- Past President, Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2001 – Present
- Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association – Board of Directors
- AV Preeminent 2016
- “Bernard Edelman Tradition Award for Mentoring Young Lawyers” should be added and followed by:
- Five-time designation by Best Lawyers as “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of criminal law in Springfield, MO.”
- Selected as one of the 30 most powerful white collar criminal defense lawyers in the State of Missouri by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
PUBLISHED WORKS
Thomas Carver – Criminal Law -Sentencing, Missouri Bar, 1994
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- State v. Langston, 229 SW3d 289 (Mo. App. S.D. 2007)
- State v. Brown, 140 SW3d 51 (Mo.Sup. Ct. 2004)
- State v. Rodriguez, 985 SW2d 863 (Mo.App.W.D. 1998)
- United States v. Plummer, 409 F.3d 906 (2005)
- United States v. Simmons, 964 F.2d 763 (1992)
- Carver v. Nixon, 72 F.3d 633 (1995)
- Straub v. Tull, 128 S.W.3d 157 (2003)
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