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Jackson County

Mary A. Marquez
Aug 16, 2022

Jackson County court administrator Mary A. Marquez to retire

Jackson County Court Administrator Mary A. Marquez has announced she will retire in February after a 35-year career with the 16th Circuit.

Jackson County Courthouse
Jun 2, 2020

Byrn: Jackson County failed to deliver on screenings for COVID-19

The lack of promised COVID-19 screenings at Jackson County courthouses has led Presiding Judge David M. Byrn to urge county officials to provide those screenings, citing pledges they made prior to reopening the courthouses.

Virus Outbreak Missouri
Apr 23, 2020

Exurb counties breaking from Missouri urban areas on reopening plans

Leaders of counties on the edge of Missouri’s two metropolitan areas are showing an increasing urge to end business shutdowns necessitated by the coronavirus, breaking with urban leaders who have extended stay-at-home orders for several weeks. The majority of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have occurred in the […]

Oct 25, 2019

Applicants sought for Jackson County court vacancy

The 16th Circuit Judicial Commission will meet Nov. 22 to fill an associate circuit vacancy in Jackson County. The commission is accepting applications through Nov. 8 to replace Judge Cory L. Atkins, who was elevated to the circuit bench in September. Following public interviews with the applicants at the Western District Court of Appeals in […]

Oct 25, 2019

Kansas prosecutor retires amid protests over murder case

A Kansas prosecutor is retiring amid calls for her to step down after a Missouri judge overturned the double murder conviction of a man whom she helped send to prison more than two decades ago. The Douglas County, Kansas, district attorney’s office said in a statement this week that Chief Assistant District Attorney Amy McGowan […]

Oct 25, 2019

Kansas prosecutor retires amid protests over murder case

A Kansas prosecutor is retiring amid calls for her to step down after a Missouri judge overturned the double murder conviction of a man whom she helped send to prison more than two decades ago. The Douglas County, Kansas, district attorney’s office said in a statement this week that Chief Assistant District Attorney Amy McGowan […]

Jun 28, 2019

Judge denies caseload relief for public defenders

Jackson County’s presiding judge has denied caseload relief for two public defenders and to their office as a whole in a June 27 ruling. Judge David M. Byrn ruled that neither David Wiegert nor Walter Stokely have caseload problems and are unable to provide effective assistance of counsel. The Jackson County Public Defender’s Office, also […]

Jun 3, 2019

Jackson County defenders air caseload concerns

Nearly 1,000 criminal defendants in Jackson County have been told they must wait indefinitely before they may be assigned a public defender, the Jackson County district defender testified May 30 during a conference aimed at addressing defender caseloads. Ruth Petsch, who heads the public defender’s office in Jackson County, acknowledged in sometimes tearful testimony during […]

Apr 10, 2019

Jury awards woman after restaurant fall

A Jackson County jury awarded $75,000 to a Wentzville woman who broke her kneecap after slipping and falling at a suburban Kansas City bar and restaurant in November 2015. Michelle Schaefer, 47, sued the Kellan Restaurant Management Group in October 2016, nearly one year after getting injured at the 54th Street Grill and Bar in […]

Apr 2, 2019

Prosecutors sketch out ‘progressive’ policies, challenges

Progressive prosecutors are a rare species in Missouri, according to Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker.

Mar 15, 2019

Jungerman’s daughter released from jail

A Jackson County judge has approved the release of the jailed daughter of a man accused of killing a Kansas City attorney — but with a stern warning about how both are required to cooperate with a general receiver in a related civil case. At a March 6 status hearing, Judge Kevin D. Harrell authorized […]

Mar 6, 2019

Supreme Court throws out negligent credentialing verdict

The Missouri Supreme Court overturned a $2.3 million verdict against a Kansas City-area surgical center, citing a lack of proof that the facility was negligent in providing credentials to the surgeon who operated on the plaintiff.

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