Missouri Court of Appeals to Convene on campus

01/23/2025

The three judges hearing cases are all Jewell alumni

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, is scheduled to convene court Wednesday, Feb. 5, at William Jewell College. The arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at Yates-Gill College Union on campus. 

The three-judge panel consists of Jewell alumni: Judge Cindy Martin '81, Judge Gary Witt '87, and Supreme Court of Missouri Judge Zel M. Fischer '85 will hear oral arguments in four cases on the docket. After the oral arguments, the judges will take time to discuss the court system and take general questions from the audience.

Martin will preside over the proceedings. She joined the Western District in 2009 and practiced law in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit before joining the court. Witt was appointed to the Western District in 2010. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as an associate circuit judge in Platte County (6th Judicial Circuit). Previously, he practiced law in Platte County and served in the Missouri House of Representatives. Fischer was appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri in 2008. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as an associate circuit judge in Atchison County (in the 4th Judicial Circuit). Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced law in Atchison, Holt, Nodaway and Platte counties.

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.