12 November 2014
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, to sit at Lincoln University, Jefferson City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the fifth time in as many years, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, will convene court at Lincoln University, Chief Judge Alok Ahuja announced today. On Thursday, November 13, 2013, oral arguments will take place in the Scruggs Ballroom located in the Scruggs University Center beginning at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited.
A three-judge panel consisting of Western District judges Thomas Newton, Lisa White Hardwick and Anthony Rex Gabbert will listen to arguments in four cases. Ahuja 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, which 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 take a break between cases to answer questions about the court system in Missouri, especially the appellate courts.
Newton will preside over the proceedings at Lincoln. A graduate of Howard University in Washington D.C., Newton served as an assistant state prosecutor and an assistant United States attorney before his appointment as a trial judge in Jackson County. He was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2000. He served as chief judge from 2008 to 2010. Hardwick practiced law with the Shook, Hardy & Bacon law firm in Kansas City for 15 years before receiving an appointment as a trial judge in Jackson County in 2000. One year later she was appointed to the Court of Appeals. She served as chief judge from 2010 to 2012. Gabbert is the newest judge on the Western District, having been appointed in 2013. Before his appointment, he served as a municipal judge, an associate circuit judge and a circuit judge in Clay County,
The Western District Court of Appeals convenes regularly at its courthouse in downtown Kansas City, but it also convenes frequently in other locations within the Western District. In the last 23 years, the court has held sessions in Chillicothe, Clinton, Columbia, Gallatin, Huntsville, Independence, Jefferson City, Keytesville, Kirksville, Lexington, Liberty, Linneus, Macon, Marshall, Maryville, Milan, Nevada, Platte City, Richmond, St. Joseph, Savannah, Trenton, Tuscumbia and Warrensburg. The Western District consists of 45 counties in central and western Missouri.
"It is important for the Court to convene oral arguments outside of Kansas City," Newton 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."
###
Contact: Terence G. Lord, clerk
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
(816) 889-3600