Attorney General Chris Koster announced Wednesday that Joan Gummels, currently director of policy and communications, would succeed Ron Holliger as the office’s chief legal advisor, effective Friday.

Tagged with: Ron Holliger

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 Gary D. Witt Hal Lowenstein Joseph Dandurand Karen King Mitchell Mark Pfeiffer Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Paul Spinden Ron Holliger

A Cole County judge said he will decide by Tuesday whether to keep three dismissed administrative law judges on the job. Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration dismissed four administrative law judges earlier this month, while the position of a fifth judge ...

Tagged with: administrative law judges Chris Koster Henry Herschel Jay Nixon John Comerford John Tackes Matthew Murphy Ron Holliger

Missouri’s Court of Appeals Western District is supposed to have 11 people donning black robes and meting out justice. These days, it’s limping along with eight. The three-judge shortfall appears to have an impact. Data show the court has heard almost a third fewer cases and issued 22 percent fewer rulings compared to a year ago. But so far, lawyers don’t seem to be complaining. At the same time, the state court system has implemented a general hiring freeze on courthouse employees and postponed computer equipment upgrades to keep the books in balance through June.

Tagged with: Greg Linhares Jay Nixon Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Paul Spinden Ron Holliger

Wasting no time, the Appellate Judicial Commission has announced it will meet Wednesday in Jefferson City to select another panel of candidates for an appellate judgeship in Kansas City. The announcement came just a day after Gov. Jay Nixon selected ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Cynthia L. Reams Martin Jacqueline A. Cook Jay Nixon Joseph Dandurand Mark Pfeiffer Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Paul Spinden Ron Holliger

Columbia attorney Mark Pfeiffer has been named to the Western District Court of Appeals. Gov. Jay Nixon made the announcement this afternoon. Nixon had until Tuesday to make his selection. Pfeiffer will fill one of three openings on the Western ...

Tagged with: Chris Koster Jay Nixon Mark Pfeiffer Ron Holliger

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: Hal Lowenstein Kansas City Ron Holliger

Missouri’s code of judicial ethics calls for judges to disqualify themselves from cases that involve law firms they might be leaving the bench to join. But what about a state office like the Attorney General’s office? The answer is not ...

Tagged with: Chris Koster Joseph Dandurand Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Ron Holliger

The Appellate Judicial Commission said Thursday that 47 lawyers applied for three vacancies on the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. Thirteen of these applicants are women, and 34 are men. Three are minority applicants and 44 non-minority applicants. There ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Joseph Dandurand Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Ron Holliger

Chris Koster doesn’t have much time these days to reflect on the remarkable events of the past year. Yes, he switched political parties in 2007, shocking the Jefferson City establishment and losing some friends in the process. And yes, he ...

Tagged with: attorney general Chris Koster Chuck Hatfield Jay Nixon Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Mound City Bar Association Ron Holliger

The Appellate Judicial Commission has suspended the process to fill Judge Booker T. Shaw’s vacancy on the Eastern District Court of Appeals until at least late summer because of scheduling conflicts with filling the three vacancies on the Western District ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Booker T. Shaw Jay Nixon Joseph Dandurand Paul Spinden Ron Holliger