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TheMissouri Court of Appeals is the intermediateappellate court for thestate ofMissouri. The court handles most of theappeals from theMissouri Circuit Courts. The court is divided into three geographic districts: Eastern (based inSt. Louis), Western (based inKansas City), and Southern (based inSpringfield).[1] For example, appeals taken from trials in St. Louis County will go to the Eastern District, and appeals taken from trials in Jackson County (Kansas City) will go to the Western District.
After a case is decided in the Court of Appeals, the losing party may choose to accept the result, or to appeal further to theSupreme Court of Missouri. In most appeals, the Supreme Court of Missouri may, and often does, reject an appeal from the Court of Appeals (called "discretionary jurisdiction"). Historically, less than ten percent of the appeals heard by the Missouri Court of Appeals are transferred to the Supreme Court. Thus, for the vast majority of appeals, the Court of Appeals decision is final.[2]
The Missouri Court of Appeals hasjurisdiction over all appeals which do not fall under theexclusive jurisdiction of theSupreme Court of Missouri. The five categories of appeals over which the Supreme Court exercises exclusive jurisdiction are:
Therefore, if an appeal falls within one of these five categories, the appeal must go directly to the Missouri Supreme Court. If an appeal does not fall within one of these five categories, the Missouri Court of Appeals may hear the case.[2]
The Missouri court of appeals functions by issuing writtenjudicial opinions. These opinions createprecedent for future cases within each District's geographic region.[1]
These opinions are available to the public. The court publishes the opinions to its website when they are issued.[3]
There are fourteenjudges in the Eastern District, eleven judges in the Western District, and seven judges in the Southern District. Judges are selected via theMissouri Plan.[4] Often, a district will have fewer judges than normal because of a vacancy, which occurs after a sitting judge leaves the Court and before a new judge can be appointed.[5]
Under theConstitution of Missouri, Court of Appeals judges must be at least 30 years old,licensed to practice law in Missouri, a United States citizen for at least 15 years, a qualified voter of the state for nine years preceding selection, and a resident of the appellate district in which the judge serves. Judges serve a term of twelve years, but may seek additional terms. Mandatory retirement age for judges is 70, after which a judge may elect to go onsenior status.[6]
| Judge | Year appointed | Appointed by | Term up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas C. Clark II, Chief Judge | 2021 | Mike Parson (R) | 2034 |
| Michael E. Gardner | 2020 | Mike Parson (R) | 2034 |
| Kurt S. Odenwald | 2007 | Matt Blunt (R) | 2032 |
| Gary M. Gaertner Jr. | 2009 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2036 |
| Robert M. Clayton III | 2011 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2036 |
| Angela Turner Quigless | 2012 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2026 |
| Philip M. Hess | 2013 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2028 |
| James M. Dowd | 2015 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2028 |
| Lisa Page | 2015 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2030 |
| John Torbitzky | 2021 | Mike Parson (R) | 2034 |
| VACANT | 2025 | (V) | 2026 |
| Renee Hardin-Tammons | 2022 | Mike Parson (R) | 2036 |
| Michael S. Wright | 2023 | Mike Parson (R) | 2026 |
Source[7]
| Judge | Year appointed | Chief | Appointed by | Term up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Rex Gabbert, Chief Judge | 2013 | 2024-Present | Jay Nixon (D) | 2026 |
| Lisa White Hardwick | 2001 | 2010–2012 | Bob Holden (D) | 2026 |
| Alok Ahuja | 2007 | 2014-2016 | Matt Blunt (R) | 2034 |
| Karen King Mitchell | 2009 | 2018–2020 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2034 |
| Cynthia L. Martin | 2009 | 2020–2022 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2036 |
| Gary D. Witt | 2010 | 2022–2024 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2036 |
| Mark D. Pfeiffer | 2009 | 2016–2018 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2034 |
| Edward R. Ardini Jr. | 2016 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2030 | |
| Thomas N Chapman | 2018 | Mike Parson (R) | 2032 | |
| W. Douglas Thomson | 2020 | Mike Parson (R) | 2034 | |
| Janet Sutton | 2021 | Mike Parson (R) | 2024 |
Source[8]
| Judge | Year appointed | Appointed by | Term up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack A.L. Goodman, Chief Judge | 2020 | Mike Parson (R) | 2034 |
| Jeffrey W. Bates | 2003 | Bob Holden (D) | 2030 |
| Don E. Burrell Jr. | 2008 | Matt Blunt (R) | 2034 |
| Mary W. Sheffield | 2012 | Jay Nixon (D) | 2026 |
| Becky Borthwick | 2022 | Mike Parson (R) | 2036 |
| Jennifer Growcock | 2022 | Mike Parson (R) | 2036 |
| Matt Hamner | 2024 | Mike Parson (R) | 2026 |
Source[9]
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, is located in the historicOld Post Office building in downtown St. Louis. The address is One Post Office Square, 815 Olive Street, Room 304, St. Louis, Missouri 63101.[10]
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District is located in its own courthouse in downtown Kansas City. The courthouse—built in 1982—is the state's only intermediate appellate courthouse.[11] The address is 1300 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106-2970.[12]
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, is located in the Hammons Building in Springfield, Missouri.[13] The address is 300 Hammons Parkway, Springfield, Missouri 65806.[14]
State intermediate appellate courts in the United States | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | |
The states ofDelaware,Maine,Montana,New Hampshire,North Dakota,Rhode Island,South Dakota,Vermont, andWyoming do not have intermediate appellate courts. Nor do the equivalent court systems ofAmerican Samoa, theDistrict of Columbia,Guam, theNorthern Mariana Islands, or theU.S. Virgin Islands | ||