13 August 2018

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, have elected Karen King Mitchell as chief judge. Her two-year term began July 1, 2018.

The chief judge serves as chief administrative officer of the court. The chief judge’s duties include presenting the court’s budget to the legislature and approving all financial transactions involving the court. The chief judge also assigns the court’s 11 judges to panels to hear appeals and petitions for extraordinary writs and designates the presiding judges of those panels. The chief judge works closely with the clerk of the court in considering and ruling on motions presented to the court and presides over the monthly conference of the judges. As part of her duties, Mitchell will chair the Sixth, Seventh and Sixteenth circuit judicial commissions. These commissions are responsible for selecting three-person panels for consideration by the governor when judicial vacancies occur in those circuits.

Mitchell was appointed to the Western District in 2009 by Governor Jay Nixon. Prior to her appointment, she served as Missouri’s director of revenue. Mitchell also served as the chief deputy attorney general of Missouri for more than a decade. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law 

“I am humbled by the confidence my fellow judges have shown in me," Mitchell said. "The Western District of the Court of Appeals has a long history of serving the citizens of the state of Missouri by providing timely and meticulous analysis of the legal issues presented to us. It is my goal to assist the court, in any way possible, to continue efficiently and effectively providing this vital service.”


Contact: Susan C. Sonnenberg, clerk of court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
(816) 889-3600