28 September 2006
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, to sit Oct. 11 at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph
CONTACT: Terence G. Lord, Clerk of Court
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
Phone: (816) 889-3600
Fax: (816) 889-3668
E-mail: tlord@courts.mo.gov
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the ninth consecutive year, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, will convene court at Missouri Western State University, Chief Judge Victor C. Howard announced today. The Court will sit at Missouri Western on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006.
A three-judge panel consisting of Ronald R. Holliger, Edwin H. Smith and Lisa White Hardwick will hear oral arguments in four cases. Arguments will begin at 9 a.m. at the Kemper Recital Hall located in the Leah Spratt Multipurpose Building on campus.
Howard explained that the cases are appeals from previously held trials in area circuit courts. The judges will hear attorneys argue whether the trials had errors that should cause them to be retried, or the trial court's judgment reversed, he said. The judges will read written arguments before the court session, he added, and may interrupt the attorneys' arguments with questions.
The judges will break sometime during the arguments to explain the judicial system in general and the appellate judiciary in particular, Howard said.
The Court has made it a practice to convene yearly in St. Joseph. It convenes regularly in Kansas City. Its jurisdiction includes appeals from trial courts in 45 counties in western and central Missouri.
Holliger will preside over the proceedings at Missouri Western. He was appointed to the court of appeals in 2000. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as a circuit judge in Jackson County. Prior to judicial service, he practiced law in Kansas City. Smith served as an associate circuit judge for nine years and a circuit for six years in Andrew and Buchanan counties prior to his appointment to the court of appeals in 1995. He recently completed a two-year term as chief judge of the Western District. Hardwick was a circuit judge in Jackson County immediately prior to her 2001 appointment to the court of appeals. Prior to judicial service, she practiced law for 14 years in Kansas City.
"It is important for the Court to convene oral arguments outside of Kansas City," Howard said. "This gives individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see. We hope those attending will gain a better understanding of the Court's function."
During the past 15 years, the Court has held sessions in Chillicothe, Clinton, Columbia, Fulton, Gallatin, Huntsville, Independence, Jefferson City, Kirksville, Lexington, Liberty, Linneus, Macon, Marshall, Maryville, Nevada, Platte City, Richmond, St. Joseph, Savannah, Trenton, Tuscumbia and Warrensburg.
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