12 September 2019

SPRINGFIELD, MO – The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, has announced plans to convene at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar for a special session of court on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. The special session will begin at 10 a.m. at Meyer Recital Hall, in the Geneva Casebolt Music Center. The event is open to the public.

The session will begin with an introduction by Chief Judge Jeffrey Bates, after which court will be called to order and a three-judge panel will hear attorneys’ oral arguments in an appeal from the Cedar County circuit court. The judges for the oral arguments will be Judge Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer, Judge Daniel Scott and Judge William Francis. Judge Scott will preside. Oral arguments are expected to last approximately 35 minutes.

After arguments conclude, the judges, joined by Judge Gary Lynch, will speak with the audience about the court and its role in government. During this time, the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions.

In all, five judges of the Southern District are expected to participate in the event.  Judge Rahmeyer was appointed to the court in 2001, having previously practiced law in Springfield for 12 years and having served as a Springfield municipal judge for eight years. Judge Bates was appointed to the court in 2003, having previously practiced law in Springfield for 19 years. Judge Lynch was appointed to the court in 2006 after serving three years as an associate circuit judge in the Polk County court circuit and having previously practiced law in Bolivar for 25 years. Judge Scott was appointed to the court in 2006, having previously practiced law in Joplin for 26 years. Judge Francis was appointed to the court in 2010, having previously practiced law in Springfield for 33 years.

The Missouri Court of Appeals hears and decides appeals and other legal proceedings arising out of the circuit (trial) courts and reviews decisions of executive agencies pursuant to the constitution and laws of Missouri. The Southern District – one of three districts of the court of appeals – comprises 44 counties across southern Missouri (more than 38 percent of all counties in the state). Its territory spans the full width of the state and extends from the state’s southern border to as far north as Maries County. The Southern District regularly convenes at its courtrooms in Springfield and Poplar Bluff and conducts special sessions at other locations within the district.

Additional information about Missouri’s courts, including the Southern District, may be found on the Missouri Courts website.


See note regarding media coverage, below.

Contact: Craig Street, Clerk of the Court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District
300 S Hammons Pkwy Ste 300
Springfield, MO  65806
(417) 895-6811
craig.street@courts.mo.gov


Members of the media are welcome to attend and observe any public session of the court, including this special session. Please note, however, that media coverage of judicial proceedings is specially regulated by Supreme Court of Missouri Operating Rule 16 (Cameras in the Courtroom). This rule sets out certain limitations on and requirements for media coverage, including restrictions on recording, photographing, broadcasting, and transmitting information concerning judicial proceedings. To read the full text of Supreme Court Operating Rule 16, please visit the Missouri Courts website.

Members of the media desiring to engage in any of the forms of media coverage identified in Supreme Court Operating Rule 16 must submit a written request, in advance, to the designated media coordinator in accordance with the operating rule. The media coordinator for the Southern District is:


Compliance with Supreme Court Operating Rule 16 helps to preserve the dignity of judicial proceedings and ensure the fair administration of justice. Thank you for working with us to honor these important ideals. If you have any questions, you may direct them to the media coordinator or to the clerk of the court, Craig Street.