| United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (W.D. Mo.) |
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| Appeals to | Eighth Circuit |
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| Established | March 16, 1822 |
| Judges assigned | 7 |
| Chief judge | Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. |
| Official site | |
The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (in case citations, W.D. Mo.) is the federal judicial district encompassing 66 counties in the western half of the State of Missouri. The Court is based in the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City.
The district is divided into five divisions: Western (Kansas City), Central (Jefferson City), Southern (Springfield), Southwestern (Joplin), and Northern (St. Joseph). There are divisional clerk's Offices in Jefferson City and Springfield in addition to the primary office in Kansas City. New cases and pleadings in the District Court may be filed in the clerk's offices in Kansas City, Jefferson City, and Springfield; Bankruptcy Court filings, however, only are accepted in the Kansas City clerk's office.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit across Missouri in St. Louis has jurisdiction over decisions appealed from the Western District of Missouri (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
As of March 2013, Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr., is the current Chief Judge, and Angela Tammy Dickinson is the current U.S. Attorney, having been confirmed in the Senate by voice vote on New Years Day, 2013. She was nominated to replace now Judge Mary Elizabeth Phillips, who resigned as U.S. Attorney and was subsequently nominated and confirmed as one of the Court's judges.[1]
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Jurisdiction [edit]
Jurisdiction (Counties): Andrew, Atchison, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Boone, Buchanan, Caldwell, Callaway, Camden, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Cole, Cooper, Dade, Dallas, Daviess, De Kalb, Douglas, Gentry, Greene, Grundy, Harrison, Henry, Hickory, Holt, Howard, Howell, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Laclede, Lafayette, Lawrence, Livingston, McDonald, Mercer, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Newton, Nodaway, Oregon, Osage, Ozark, Pettis, Platte, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Ray, Saline, St. Clair, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster, Worth, and Wright.
History [edit]
Missouri was admitted as a state on August 10, 1821, and the United States Congress established the United States District Court for the District of Missouri on March 16, 1822.[2][3][4] The District was assigned to the Eighth Circuit on March 3, 1837.[2][5] Congress subdivided it into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1857.[2][6] and has since made only small adjustments to the boundaries of that subdivision. The division was prompted by a substantial increase in the number of admiralty cases arising from traffic on the Mississippi River, which had followed an act of Congress passed in 1845 and upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1851, extendeding federal admiralty jurisdiction to inland waterways.[7] These disputes involved "contracts of affreightment, collisions, mariners' wages, and other causes of admiralty jurisdiction", and litigants of matters arising in St. Louis found it inconvenient to travel to Jefferson City for their cases to be tried.[7]
When the District of Missouri was subdivided, Robert William Wells was the sole judge serving the District of Missouri. Wells was then reassigned to serve only the Western District.[8]
Judges [edit]
One noted alumnus of this court's bench was Charles Evans Whittaker, who served on the court only briefly before being elevated to the Eighth Circuit, and then to the Supreme Court of the United States.
As of 24 April 2013[update], a vacancy exists due to the death of Judge Richard Everett Dorr[9] There is not yet a pending nomination for this vacancy.
District judges [edit]
| Name | Appointed | Appointed by |
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| Chief Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. | 1991 | George H. W. Bush | |
| District Judge Gary A. Fenner | 1995 | Bill Clinton | |
| District Judge Rodney W. Sippel | 1996 | Bill Clinton | |
| District Judge David G. Kays | 2008 | George W. Bush | |
| District Judge Mary Elizabeth Phillips | 2012 | Barack Obama | |
| District Judge Brian C. Wimes | 2012 | Barack Obama | |
| vacant | as of 2013 | ||
- Judges Rodney W. Sippel and Brian C. Wimes are jointly appointed to both the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.
Senior District judges [edit]
| Name | Took senior status | Appointed by |
|
| Senior District Judge Scott O. Wright | 1991 | Jimmy Carter | |
| Senior District Judge Howard F. Sachs | 1992 | Jimmy Carter | |
| Senior District Judge Dean Whipple | 2007 | Ronald Reagan | |
| Senior District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey | 2011 | Bill Clinton | |
| Senior District Judge Ortrie D. Smith | 2011 | Bill Clinton | |
United States Attorneys [edit]
Recent, former U.S. attorneys for the district
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/12/presidential-nominations-sent-senate
- ^ a b c U.S. District Courts of Missouri, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ 3 Stat. 653.
- ^ Dickens, Asbury (1852). Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America. Boston: Little, Brown and company. p. 393.
- ^ 5 Stat. 176.
- ^ 11 Stat. 197.
- ^ a b Broadhead, James O. (March 5, 1887). "Address of Col. J. O. Broadhead". In Bar Association of St. Louis. Proceedings of the Saint Louis bar on the retirement of Hon. Samuel Treat. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones printing co. pp. 10–17.
- ^ "Robert William Wells". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ Federal judge from Springfield dies
External links [edit]
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