Court of Appeals to Convene on Campus


01/25/2024

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, is scheduled to convene court Wednesday, Jan. 31, at William Jewell College. The arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at Yates-Gill College Union on campus.

A panel consisting of Chief Judge Gary Witt, Jewell Class of 1987; Judge Cynthia Martin, Jewell Class of 1981; and Special Judge James Welsh, will hear oral arguments in four cases on the docket. After the oral arguments, the judges will take time to discuss the court system, explain the proceedings and take questions from the audience.

Witt will preside over the proceedings. He was appointed to the Western District in 2010. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as an associate circuit judge in Platte County (in the 6th Judicial Circuit). Previously, he practiced law in Platte County and served in the Missouri House of Representatives. Martin joined the Western District in 2009. She practiced law in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit before joining the court. Welsh served on the Western District for more than 10 years before his retirement in 2018. Although retired, Welsh serves as a senior judge and was appointed to sit with this panel by the Supreme Court of Missouri at Witt's request.

The court typically convenes court in Kansas City. For more than 25 years, however, the court has held dockets in several of the 45 counties in the court’s jurisdiction, which includes all of northwest Missouri and most of central Missouri. The Court hears oral arguments outside of Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see and to familiarize those attending with the court’s role in the judicial system.