Judge Jeffrey W. Bates

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Jeffrey W. Bates, Judge

Judge Jeffrey W. Bates
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District


Dates of judicial service:
  • Appointed to the court of appeals November 14, 2003, for a term beginning on December 1, 2003
    • Retained in 2006 and 2018
    • Current term expires December 31, 2030

Education:
  • Bachelor of Science, 1979 (cum laude), Southwest Missouri State University
  • Juris Doctor, 1984 (cum laude), University of Missouri - Columbia

Prior employment:
  • From 1984 to 2003, was engaged in private civil trial practice in Springfield

Professional memberships and activities:
  • Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association
  • The Missouri Bar
  • Phi Delta Phi Law Fraternity
  • Missouri Court Automation Committee
  • State Judicial Records Committee
  • Case Management Oversight Team

Awards and honors:
  • Order of the Coif
  • Associate Editor in Chief, Missouri Law Review
  • Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association President’s Award (2005)
  • Missouri Bar President's Award (2023)
  • Supreme Court of Missouri’s Honorable Clifford Ahrens Excellence in Technical Advancements Award (2023)
  • Missouri Lawyers Weekly ICON award (2024)

Publications
  • What you need to know about expanded remote public access, Hon. Jeffrey Bates and Hon. Gary Lynch, Vol. 79, Number 3, May-June 2023 Journal of the Missouri Bar

Civic and charitable activities:
  • Member, Campbell United Methodist Church
  • Member, Child Advocacy Council, 1990 to 1992
  • Teen Court (31st Circuit)

Additional information:
  • Born in 1958 in Petersburg, Virginia
  • Married Harriet in April 1979. They have three sons and three daughters.

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