Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District to convene at Northwest

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District to convene at Northwest

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, is returning to Northwest Missouri State University, where it is scheduled to convene court on Monday, April 6.

The session, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom.

A three-judge panel, consisting of Chief Judge Anthony Rex Gabbert and Judges Thomas N. Chapman and W. Douglas Thomson, will hear oral arguments in four cases on the docket. Summaries of the cases are accessible by clicking this link.

After the oral arguments, the judges will take time to discuss the court system and take questions from the audience.

"By observing oral arguments before our Missouri Court of Appeals judges, Northwest students get the unique opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the judicial process in this state," Dr. Mariliz Kastberg-Leonard, an assistant professor of political science and pre-law advisor at Northwest, said.

Gabbert, who will preside over the proceedings, joined the Western District in 2013. Previously, he served as a municipal judge, associate circuit judge and circuit judge in Clay County.

Chapman was appointed to the Western District in 2018. Before his appointment to the court of appeals, he served as a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit of Missouri - comprising Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb and Livingston counties - for more than seven years. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced law in the Chillicothe area.

Thomson joined the Western District in 2020. He served as an associate circuit judge in Nodaway County in the 4th Judicial Circuit for more than five years. Before becoming a judge, he practiced law in the Maryville area.

The court, which has convened regularly at Northwest since 2010, typically convenes in Kansas City. For more than 25 years, the court has held dockets in several of the 45 counties in its jurisdiction, which includes all of northwest Missouri and most of central Missouri.

The court hears oral arguments outside Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see and to familiarize attendants with the court's role in the judicial system.