The state of Missouri may owe lawyers for the Westboro Baptist Church more money after years of litigation over the state’s funeral protest law. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a district court judge’s award of ...
Read More »Municipal court work group releases report
A Missouri Supreme Court task force on Tuesday made a series of recommendations to reform the state’s municipal courts. Among the recommendations in the 140-page report from the Municipal Division Work Group is that the Supreme Court adopt a rule ...
Read More »Judge Ellis to retire from Western District
Judge Joseph Ellis on Thursday announced his retirement from the Court of Appeals Western District with a few of his closest colleagues and a handful of litigants nearby. Ellis, who will leave the court on Tuesday, sat as the presiding ...
Read More »Court affirms $3M verdict in fatal bridge crash
A federal appeals court upheld a $3 million jury verdict for the family of a man killed when a truck with an oversized load tried to cross a narrow Mississippi River bridge. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said ...
Read More »Governor signs bill to split 38th Circuit in two
Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday signed a bill creating the state’s first new judicial circuit in 25 years, after lawmakers gave it final approval on Monday. The bill leaves Christian County as the sole county in the 38th Judicial Circuit, ...
Read More »Breckenridge says judges will get anti-bias training
Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge used her first state of the judiciary address to acknowledge problems with the state’s municipal courts while praising collaborative efforts between the courts and the legislature. Noting recent critical reports from the U.S. Department of Justice ...
Read More »Supreme Court orders probation for adoption attorney
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday put a Kansas City attorney on two years’ probation, saying he misled a court and opposing counsel in an adoption case. Sanford “Sandy” Krigel of Krigel & Krigel had represented a birth mother who ...
Read More »Insurer off the hook for one of 2014’s biggest wins
A St. Louis County judge found that an insurance company is not responsible for paying one of the largest plaintiffs wins of 2014. Plaintiff Daniel McCullen had secured a judgment of more than $11 million against Shernaman Enterprises, which does ...
Read More »Senate passes bill to split 38th Circuit in two
The Missouri Senate has passed a bill that would divide one of Missouri’s busiest rural judicial circuits in two. The bill would leave Christian County as the sole county in the 38th Judicial Circuit. Taney would be covered by a ...
Read More »Once again, Jefferson County gets special-law treatment
For the second time in 10 years, the Missouri Supreme Court has found fault with a so-called “special law” in Jefferson County. The court on Jan. 12 ruled that a law aimed at the city of De Soto without ever ...
Read More »Senate seeks to split 38th Circuit in two
The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to a bill that would divide one of Missouri’s busiest rural judicial circuits in two. The bill would leave Christian County as the sole county in the 38th Judicial Circuit. Taney would be ...
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