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 eleven judges to panels that will 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.

Hardwick was appointed to the Western District in May 2001. She earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a law degree from Harvard University. She practiced law with the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon for 15 years. She was elected to the Jackson County Legislature and served there seven years until her appointment as a trial judge in Jackson County in January 2000. During her tenure on the court of appeals, she has chaired the court’s Human Resources and Administrative committees. She also currently serves as chairperson of the Appellate Practice Committee for the Supreme Court of Missouri.

The Western District is one of three districts of the Missouri Court of Appeals. It serves 45 counties in north, central and western Missouri. The court is based in Kansas City but regularly holds sessions at numerous locations throughout the district.