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United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri

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United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
EstablishedMarch 16, 1822

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.

As of January 2014, Judge David Gregory Kays is the Chief Judge, and 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]

History

Charles Evans Whittaker Federal Courthouse

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, extending 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]

Jurisdiction

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).

The five court divisions each cover the following counties:

The Western Division covers Bates, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Ray, St. Clair, and Saline counties.

The Central Division covers Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cole, Cooper, Hickory, Howard, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage, and Pettis counties.

The Southern Division covers Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Howell, Laclede, Oregon, Ozark, Polk, Pulaski, Taney, Texas, Webster, and Wright counties.

The Northern Division covers Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Putnam, Sullivan, and Worth counties.

The Southwestern Division covers Barry, Barton, Jasper, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Stone, and Vernon counties.

Judges

Main article: List of judges for United States district courts in Missouri

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.

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
32 Chief Judge David Gregory Kays Kansas City 1962 2008–present 2014–present — G.W. Bush
34 District Judge Rodney W. Sippel None[note 1] 1956 1997–present — — Clinton
35 District Judge Mary Elizabeth Phillips Kansas City 1969 2012–present — — Obama
36 District Judge Brian C. Wimes Kansas City 1966 2012–present — — Obama
37 District Judge M. Douglas Harpool Springfield 1956 2014–present — — Obama
38 District Judge Stephen R. Bough Kansas City 1970 2014–present — — Obama
39 District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark Kansas City 1963 2015–present — — Obama
21 Senior Judge Howard F. Sachs Kansas City 1925 1979–1992 1990–1992 1992–present Carter
27 Senior Judge Dean Whipple Kansas City 1938 1987–2007 2000–2007 2007–present Reagan
28 Senior Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. Kansas City 1948 1991–2014 2007–2014 2014–present G.H.W. Bush
29 Senior Judge Ortrie D. Smith Kansas City 1946 1995–2011 — 2011–present Clinton
30 Senior Judge Gary A. Fenner Kansas City 1947 1996–2015 — 2015–present Clinton
31 Senior Judge Nanette Kay Laughrey Jefferson City 1946 1996–2011 — 2011–present Clinton
  • Judges Rodney W. Sippel and Brian C. Wimes are jointly appointed to both the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri

Former judges

# Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 Robert William Wells MO 1795–1864 1857–1864[note 2] — — Jackson Death
2 Arnold Krekel MO 1815–1888 1865–1888 — — Lincoln Retirement
3 John Finis Philips MO 1834–1919 1888–1910 — — Cleveland Retirement
4 Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh MO 1862–1944 1910–1925 — — Taft Reappointment
5 Albert L. Reeves MO 1873–1971 1923–1954 1948–1954 1954–1971 Harding Death
6 Merrill E. Otis MO 1884–1944 1925–1944[note 3] — — Coolidge Death
7 John Caskie Collet MO 1898–1955 1937–1947 — — F. Roosevelt Reappointment
8 Richard M. Duncan MO 1889–1974 1943–1965 1954–1959 1965–1974 F. Roosevelt Death
9 Albert Alphonso Ridge MO 1898–1967 1945–1961 1959–1961 — F. Roosevelt Reappointment
10 Roy Winfield Harper MO 1905–1994 1947–1971[note 4] — 1971–1994 Truman Death
11 Charles Evans Whittaker MO 1901–1973 1954–1956 — — Eisenhower Reappointment
12 Randle Jasper Smith MO 1908–1962 1956–1962 1961–1962 — Eisenhower Death
13 Floyd Robert Gibson MO 1910–2001 1961–1965 1962–1965 — Kennedy Reappointment
14 William Henry Becker MO 1909–1992 1961–1977 1965–1977 1977–1992 Kennedy Death
15 John Watkins Oliver MO 1914–1990 1962–1980 1977–1980 1980–1990 Kennedy Death
16 William Robert Collinson MO 1912–1995 1965–1980 — 1980–1995 L. Johnson Death
17 Elmo Bolton Hunter MO 1915–2003 1965–1980 1980–1980 1980–2003 L. Johnson Death
18 Harris Kenneth Wangelin MO 1913–1987 1970–1983 — 1983–1987 Nixon Death
19 Russell Gentry Clark MO 1925–2003 1977–1991 1980–1985 1991–2000 Carter Retirement
20 Scott Olin Wright MO 1923–2016 1979–1991 1985–1990 1991–2016 Carter Death
22 Joseph Edward Stevens, Jr. MO 1928–1998 1981–1995 1992–1995 1995–1998 Reagan Death
23 D. Brook Bartlett MO 1937–2000 1981–2000 1995–2000 — Reagan Death
24 John R. Gibson MO 1925-2014 1981–1982 — — Reagan Reappointment
25 Ross Thompson Roberts MO 1938–1987 1982–1987 — — Reagan Death
26 Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. MO 1927–present 1983–1996 — 1996–2008 Reagan Retirement
33 Richard Everett Dorr MO 1943–2013 2002–2013 — — G.W. Bush Death
  1. ^ Judge Sippel maintains chambers only in the Eastern District.
  2. ^ Reassigned from the District of Missouri
  3. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1925, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 1925, and received commission on December 14, 1925.
  4. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 24, 1947, but the United States Senate failed to act on the appointment; appointed by recess appointment a second time, and again not confirmed by the Senate; appointed by recess appointment a third time; formally nominated on January 13, 1949, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 31, 1949, and received commission on February 2, 1949.

Succession of seats

United States Attorneys

Recent, former U.S. attorneys for the district

See also: Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

See also

References

  1. ^ "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". WhiteHouse.gov. The White House. July 12, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c U.S. District Courts of Missouri, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ 3 Stat. 653.
  4. ^ Dickens, Asbury (1852). Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America. Boston: Little, Brown and company. p. 393.
  5. ^ 5 Stat. 176.
  6. ^ 11 Stat. 197.
  7. ^ a b Broadhead, James O. (March 5, 1887). "Address of Col. J. O. Broadhead". In Bar Association of St. Louis (ed.). Proceedings of the Saint Louis bar on the retirement of Hon. Samuel Treat. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones printing co. pp. 10–17.
  8. ^ "Robert William Wells". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
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