Judge Mark Pfeiffer heard his first case for the Court of Appeals Western District from an unusual place - the audience. Pfeiffer, who was appointed to the court on May 6, watched a court en banc argument later that month over the conviction of a man on a child molestation charge. He was in town for the court's conference that afternoon and intended merely to be a spectator. But when the court's existing eight judges split evenly over the outcome, Pfeiffer (with the attorneys' permission) was added as a ninth judge. As he said he learned, "there are no ties at the Court of Appeals."

Tagged with: Ann Mesle Cindy Reams Martin Gary D. Witt Hal Lowenstein John Miller Joseph Dandurand Karen King Mitchell Mark Pfeiffer Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Paul Spinden Ron Holliger

Former New York Mayor Ed Koch will give the keynote address at the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's Annual Meeting, to be held Friday at the Marriott Muehlebach Hotel in downtown Kansas City.

Tagged with: Ed Koch Gregg Lombardi Hal Lowenstein Jenny R. Redix Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Laura Denvir Stith Leah M. Mason Patrick M. Gavin Perry Brandt

When Judge Hal Lowenstein retired from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District last month, he told Missouri Lawyers Weekly that it was time for him to go. “I’ve been writing a whole bunch of dissents and concurring opinions, and ...

Tagged with: Hal Lowenstein

Standing in the atrium of a courtroom that didn’t exist when he took the bench, Judge Hal Lowenstein gracefully bowed out of a 28-year judicial career. Lowenstein, who turns 70 today, retired Monday from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western ...

Tagged with: Armstrong Teasdale Hal Lowenstein Larry Tucker Missouri Court of Appeals

A truck from the Martin Marietta quarry moves up Second Avenue in Greenwood, Mo., in March 2008. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District has affirmed Greenwood's $12 million jury award on claims that trucks from the quarry damaged its streets. A Jackson County jury found in favor of the city of Greenwood last year. The city, located south of Lee's Summit near the Cass County line, had sued Martin Marietta Materials and Hunt Martin Materials because the companies drove heavy trucks carrying crushed rock up city streets to reach a local highway.

Tagged with: Greenwood Hal Lowenstein Hunt Martin Materials Martin Marietta Materials Inc.

It’s an appellate court’s prerogative to change its mind. And that’s just what the Court of Appeals in Kansas City did last week in a decision allowing juvenile officers to begin termination proceedings against parents whose children have been in ...

Tagged with: Court of Appeals foster care Hal Lowenstein juvenile officers Kansas City Ron Holliger Thomas Newton

The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Wednesday formally announced the resignations of three of its judges. Judges Paul Spinden and Ron Holliger leave the court this week, and Judge Joseph Dandurand will leave on March 2, the state’s ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission attorney general Chris Koster Hal Lowenstein Joseph Dandurand Missouri Court of Appeals Paul Spinden Ron Holliger

The dismissal of a wrongful death suit over a boy’s drowning near a Kansas City school was reversed by an appellate court on Tuesday. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled the parents of Christopher Dill properly claimed in ...

Tagged with: Christopher Dill Clay County drowning Hal Lowenstein Lisa White Hardwick Missouri Court of Appeals Western District North Kansas City School District Ron Holliger wrongful death