14 October 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, plans to convene court November 5, 2025, at the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia. The arguments will be held at Hulston Hall on campus. Beginning at 9 a.m., a three-judge panel consisting of Judge Mark Pfeiffer, Judge Edward R Ardini, Jr. and Judge Tom Chapman will hear oral arguments in three cases on the docket. After the oral arguments, the judges will take time to discuss the court system, explain the proceedings and take general questions from the audience.
Judge Pfeiffer will preside over the proceedings at the University of Missouri. He was appointed to the Western District in 2009. Before his appointment to the judiciary, he practiced law in Springfield and Columbia. Judge Ardini was appointed to the Western District in 2016. Prior to his appointment, he served as counsel to the Missouri Attorney General and then as counsel to the Governor. Judge Chapman joined the Western District in 2018. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit of Missouri (Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb and Livingston counties) for more than seven years.
The court regularly convenes court in Kansas City. For more than 25 years, however, the court has held dockets in several of the 45 counties in the court’s jurisdiction, which includes all of northwest Missouri and most of central Missouri. The court hears oral arguments outside of Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see and to familiarize those attending with the court's role in the judicial system.
Judge Pfeiffer will preside over the proceedings at the University of Missouri. He was appointed to the Western District in 2009. Before his appointment to the judiciary, he practiced law in Springfield and Columbia. Judge Ardini was appointed to the Western District in 2016. Prior to his appointment, he served as counsel to the Missouri Attorney General and then as counsel to the Governor. Judge Chapman joined the Western District in 2018. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit of Missouri (Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb and Livingston counties) for more than seven years.
The court regularly convenes court in Kansas City. For more than 25 years, however, the court has held dockets in several of the 45 counties in the court’s jurisdiction, which includes all of northwest Missouri and most of central Missouri. The court hears oral arguments outside of Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see and to familiarize those attending with the court's role in the judicial system.
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Attachment: summaries of cases scheduled to be argued
Contact: Kimberly K. Boeding, clerk of court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
(816) 889-3600