Judge Zel M. Fischer

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Judge Zel M. Fischer

Supreme Court of Missouri


Dates of judicial service

  • Appointed to the Supreme Court in October 2008; retained at the 2010 general election for a 12-year term expiring December 31, 2022; retained at the 2022 general election for a 12-year term expiring December 31, 2034
  • Served a two-year term as chief justice from July 2017 through June 2019
  • Elected Associate Circuit Judge in 4th Judicial Circuit (Atchison County) in November 2006

Education

  • Educated in Rock Port, Missouri, public schools
  • Bachelor of Arts (double majors in Philosophy and Political Science), William Jewell College, 1985
  • Harry S. Truman Most Outstanding Political Science Major – Class of 1985
  • Kappa Alpha Order
  • Juris Doctor, with distinction, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 1988
  • Order of the Bench and Robe
  • Law Review
  • American Jurisprudence Award

Professional employment prior to judicial service

  • Law Clerk for the Honorable Andrew Jackson Higgins, Supreme Court of Missouri, 1988 to 1989
  • Attorney, Law Offices of James D. Boggs, 1989 to 1992
  • Attorney, Law Offices of Zel M. Fischer, 1992 to 2006
  • Offices in Atchison, Nodaway and Holt counties

Professional memberships and activities

  • ASTAR Fellow, Advanced education and training to preside over trials involving complex science or technology issues
  • President, National Courts and Sciences Institute (NCSI), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to training judges in science
  • Member, National Advisory Board for the University of North Carolina Bryson Center for Judicial Science Education
  • Member, The Missouri Bar, 1988 to present
  • Past Committee membership:
  • Civil Practice and Procedure Committee
  • Appellate Practice Sub-Committee
  • Young Lawyers Section Council (representing Clay and Platte counties and rural Northwest Missouri)
  • Current or former member:
  • 4th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
  • Platte County Bar Association
  • Clay County Bar Association
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
  • Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association

Community, civic and charitable activities (current or former)

  • Rock Port Rotary Club
  • Community Awareness Team
  • Atchison County DARE
  • Leadership Board, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Northwest Missouri
  • Tarkio First Baptist Church
  • Atchison County Economic Development Corporation
  • Tarkio Rodeo Board of Directors

Awards and honors

  • Theodore McMillian Judicial Excellence Award, The Missouri Bar, 2019
  • President's Award, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law Foundation, 2017
  • Distinguished Public Service Award, Kappa Alpha Order, 2017
  • Distinguished Non-Alumnus Award, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 2015
  • James C. Kirkpatrick Award, Northwest Missouri Press Association, 2013
  • Citation of Achievement, William Jewell College, 2012

Additional information

  • Original author of Chapter 40, Strict Liability of Product Manufacturers and Sellers - Manufacturing Defect of the Products Liability Handbook, published by the University of Missouri, Kansas City, Continuing Legal Education.
  • Adjunct professor of American Jurisprudence, William Jewell College, 2012 to present
  • Frequent lecturer to judges and lawyers regarding the intersection of science and the law as well as constitutional issues and professional ethics
  • Actively involved in presenting constitutional forums at high schools, colleges and universities to impress upon students the importance of protecting the rights guaranteed by the Constitution
  • Born in Hamburg, Iowa; raised in Watson, Missouri
  • Married to Julie Ann Fischer; they have four children and four grandchildren
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