Courts in Missouri

In Missouri, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Missouri's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Missouri's state court system.

Judicial selection process

See also: Missouri judicial elections and Judicial selection in Missouri

Selection of state judges in Missouri occurs largely through merit selection, specifically the assisted appointment method. Since 1940, when Missouri became the first state to adopt merit selection, the method itself has commonly been referred to as the Missouri Plan and has served as a model for 34 other states that have adopted some variation of it. Appointed judges serve an initial term of at least one year and later run in yes-no retention elections if they wish to serve full twelve-year terms.^[1][2]

Only the Missouri Circuit Courts deviate from this method. Except for the courts in Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis, which do employ merit selection, circuit judges are chosen in partisan elections for six-year terms and must run for re-election if they wish to serve additional terms.^[2]

Under the Missouri Constitution, elected and retained judges' terms begin on January 1 following their election.^[3]

To read more about judicial elections in Missouri, click here.

Federal courts

The federal district courts in Missouri are the:

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

Appeals from these districts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

Active judges

Eastern District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 4

Western District

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 1

District map

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.

Bankruptcy courts

There are two federal bankruptcy courts in Missouri. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in Missouri are:

• United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of Missouri
• United States bankruptcy court, Western District of Missouri

State supreme court

See also: Missouri Supreme Court

Founded in 1820, the Missouri Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Paul C. Wilson.^[4]

The Missouri Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals concerning the validity of federal statutes or treaties, the validity of state statutes or constitutional provisions, state revenue laws, challenges to a statewide elected official's right to hold office, and when the death penalty has been imposed. At its own discretion, the court may hear appeals if a question of general interest or importance is involved, if the law should be re-examined or if the lower court's decision conflicts with an earlier appellate decision.^[5]

The court also has a supervisory role over the state's judiciary and attorneys.^[5]

The following judges sit on the court:

State court of appeals

See also: Missouri Court of Appeals

The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri. The court of appeals handles appeals from the circuit courts. In Missouri, the appellate court system is divided into three districts: eastern, western and southern.^[6]

The court of appeals handles all appeals except those in the supreme court's exclusive jurisdiction: "challenges to the validity of a United States statute or treaty, the validity of a state constitutional provision or statute, cases requiring construction of revenue laws, the title to state office and cases where the death penalty is imposed."^[6]

Court of appeals cases may be appealed to the supreme court. However, historically, the supreme court hears less than 10 percent of appeals, meaning that the decision of the court of appeals stands in most cases.^[6]

The following judges sit on the Missouri court of appeals:

Trial courts

Circuit courts

See also: Missouri Circuit Courts

Missouri Circuit Courts

Missouri Circuit Courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction for almost all civil and criminal matters in Missouri, with divisions including small claims, probate, municipal, family, juvenile, and criminal. Missouri is divided by county into 46 judicial districts.^[7]

Municipal courts

See also: Missouri Municipal Courts

The Missouri Municipal Courts are courts with original jurisdiction over municipal ordinance violations. Most municipal courts have a presiding Circuit Court judge and one municipal court judge, although some have several municipal judges.^[8]

In other states

See also

• Judicial selection in Missouri
• Missouri judicial elections

External links

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• Search Google News for this topic
• Missouri Courts and the Judicial Branch

Footnotes

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