This page provides an overview of the Missouri court system and covers the following topics:
Court system overview
Distinction between civil litigation and criminal cases
Parties to civil lawsuits
Court system overview
The Missouri court system consists of trial courts, which hear evidence and make decisions based on the evidence, and appellate courts to which dissatisfied litigants can appeal if they believe the trial court erred. Appellate courts generally do not hear evidence; rather, in making their decisions, they review a transcript of the witnesses’ testimony in the trial court and the exhibits submitted by the parties, as well as legal briefs prepared by the attorneys.
The trial courts in the Missouri state system are the Circuit Court, Probate Division of the Circuit Court, Associate Division of the Circuit Court, Juvenile Division of the Circuit Court, Municipal Division of the Circuit Court, Treatment Court Division of the Circuit Court, and Small Claims Division of the Circuit Court. The types of cases handled are outlined on the Small Claims Court, Associate Division and Circuit Court pages.
The Circuit Courts are organized into various “circuits” consisting of one or more counties. The 13th Judicial Circuit comprises Boone and Callaway counties. Judges in a particular circuit can hear cases in any county within the circuit and can hear cases in other circuits by special assignment by the Missouri Supreme Court.
The highest appellate court in Missouri is the Supreme Court. It has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from trial courts involving:
- The validity of a treaty or statute of the United States, or a statute or provision of the Missouri Constitution
- The interpretation of Missouri’s revenue (taxation) laws
- Entitlement to any state office
- A criminal sentence of death
The Supreme Court also has the discretion to accept “transfer” of cases from the lower appellate courts. It then makes the final decision on such cases.
The lower appellate courts are known as the Courts of Appeals. They consider all appeals from trial courts that are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The Eastern District of the Court of Appeals is headquartered in St. Louis, the Western District in Kansas City, and the Southern District in Springfield. Each of the Courts of Appeals has an assigned geographical area from which it accepts appeals. Boone County is in the Western District. Either a Court of Appeals or a litigant can ask the Supreme Court to accept transfer of a case decided by the Court of Appeals.
All appellate judges in Missouri, as well as trial court judges in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield metropolitan areas, are selected through the Missouri Non-Partisan Judicial Selection Plan. A committee appointed by the Governor interviews applicants for a vacant position and recommends three to the Governor, who appoints one.
Trial court judges in outstate Missouri are elected by voters on partisan ballots, except that Municipal Court judges are appointed by city councils.
Distinction between civil litigation and criminal cases
Civil litigation should be distinguished from criminal cases:
- In a civil case, private parties seek to resolve a private dispute based on some alleged private wrong-doing that usually does not (but sometimes may also) constitute a violation of criminal statutes.
- In a criminal case, the state prosecutes an alleged violator of criminal statutes. Violation of criminal statutes is considered wrong-doing against the public (although usually there are individual victims, who may have a separate right to pursue a civil action against the wrong-doer).
The types of civil cases are too numerous to enumerate here, but include contract, tort (private wrong-doing not arising from contracts), family law and property cases, among many others.
Parties to civil lawsuits
The person or company filing a civil lawsuit is called the “plaintiff,” while the person or company sued is called the “defendant.” There can be multiple plaintiffs and/or multiple defendants, depending on the circumstances. In some cases, more specialized names are used for the parties – for instance, in a dissolution of marriage, the spouse filing the case is called the “petitioner,” while the other spouse is called the “respondent.”
All the participants in a lawsuit are referred to as the “parties.”