The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, plans to convene court Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Truman State University in Kirksville. The oral arguments are scheduled to take place on campus beginning at 9 a.m. in the Activities Room in the Student Union Building.
A panel, consisting of Chief Judge Gary Witt, Judge Mark Pfeiffer and Judge Thomas Chapman will hear oral arguments in two of the cases on the docket. Judge Mason Gebhardt, associate circuit judge in Howard County (in the 14th Judicial Circuit), will join Witt and Pfeiffer to hear oral arguments in the remaining case on the docket. After the oral arguments, the judges will take time to discuss the court system and take general questions from the audience.
Witt will preside over the proceedings at Truman State. He was appointed to the Western District in 2010. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as an associate circuit judge in Platte County (in the 6th Judicial Circuit). Previously, Witt practiced law in Platte County and served in the Missouri House of Representatives. Pfeiffer was appointed to the Western District in 2009. Before his appointment to the judiciary, he practiced law in Springfield and Columbia. Chapman joined the Western District in 2018. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as a circuit judge in the 43rd Judicial Circuit (Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb and Livingston counties) for more than seven years. Gebhardt has served as an associate circuit judge in Howard County since he was elected in 2010. Previously, he served as the Howard County prosecuting attorney and engaged in the private practice of law.
The court regularly convenes court in Kansas City. For more than 20 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 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.
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