Supreme Court of Missouri
207 West High Street
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Phone: (573) 751-4144
The Supreme Court of Missouri has been the state's highest court since 1820, when the first Missouri constitution was adopted. The Supreme Court's role is to ensure a stable and predictable system of justice by serving as the final arbiter of disputes involving the state's constitution and laws. The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear five types of cases on appeal:
- The validity of a United States statute or treaty.
- The validity of a Missouri statute or constitutional provision.
- The state's revenue laws.
- Challenges to a statewide elected official's right to hold office.
- Imposition of the death penalty.
Unless their case involves one of those five issues, people who want a trial court's decision reviewed must appeal to the Missouri court of appeals. Most of those cases involve routine legal questions and end there. Certain cases, however, can be transferred to the Supreme Court at the Court's discretion if it determines that a question of general interest or importance is involved, that the laws should be re-examined, or that the lower court's decision conflicts with an earlier appellate decision. This is similar to the process the United States Supreme Court uses in choosing cases.
In addition to its decision-making powers, the Supreme Court supervises all lower courts in the state, makes detailed practice and procedure rules that ensure uniform handling of Missouri court cases, licenses all attorneys practicing in Missouri, maintains the official roll of attorneys, and disciplines lawyers and judges for violating ethical rules of conduct.
Since 1940, selection of Supreme Court judges has been governed by the merit-based nonpartisan court plan. The regular term of a Supreme Court judge is 12 years, and a judge may seek to serve for multiple terms.
