The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, will return to Northwest Missouri State University to convene court on Monday, April 6.

The session is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public, offering a rare opportunity for the community to witness the appellate process firsthand.

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. Following the proceedings, the judges will remain to discuss the inner workings of the court system and answer questions from the audience. Dr. Mariliz Kastberg-Leonard, an assistant professor of political science and pre-law advisor at Northwest, noted that the visit provides students a unique chance to gain a deeper understanding of the state’s judicial process.

The presiding judges bring extensive experience from across the region. Chief Judge Gabbert joined the Western District in 2013 after serving as a municipal, associate circuit, and circuit judge in Clay County. Judge Chapman, appointed in 2018, previously served as a circuit judge for the 43rd Judicial Circuit and practiced law in Chillicothe. Judge Thomson joined the court in 2020 after serving as an associate circuit judge in Nodaway County and practicing law in the Maryville area.

Summaries of the cases to be heard can be found here.

While the court is typically based in Kansas City, it has convened regularly at Northwest since 2010. For more than 25 years, the Western District has held dockets throughout its 45-county jurisdiction, which spans northwest and central Missouri. These remote sessions are designed to familiarize the public with the court’s role and provide access to a part of the judicial system that citizens rarely have the opportunity to observe.