The Missouri Court system is an expansive machinery made up of the federal and the state courts. The state courts comprise the State Court of Last Resort, which is the Supreme Court of Missouri; the State Intermediate Appellate courts in the Eastern, Southern, and Western districts; and the State Trial courts comprising the Municipal Circuit courts and Specialized Circuit Courts.
The constitution of Missouri deemed the Supreme Court, the highest legal body in the state. This Missouri Court has the final say in all cases of disagreement arising when the constitution or the laws of the state are violated. Missouri court records prove that for years, the Supreme Court has intervened and resolved the most complex and controversial cases involving Missouri citizens, organizations, business bodies, and sections of the government.
In particular, the Missouri Supreme Court is empowered to hear five kinds of cases: determining the legality of a United States statute, determining the authority of a Missouri state statute, enforcing the revenue laws of the state, evaluating the challenges to the state elected official's right to be in office, and imposing the death penalty.
The State Intermediate Appellate Courts in Missouri are vested with the power to hear all appeals that arise at the circuit court level, except those over which the Supreme Court has sole jurisdiction rights. There are no juries or witnesses in such courts. The court hears the arguments from the contesting parties and assesses whether there lies any flaw in the Missouri court opinions of the trial courts. In this exercise, the Appellate Court takes into consideration, the briefs, the verbal arguments, the transcripts, pleadings, and pieces of evidence.
Missouri court records show that the circuit courts are the courts of original jurisdiction, that is, civil and criminal cases arise here. Trials are conducted here and verdicts given. The circuit courts of Missouri too, have been sub-divided to facilitate better and speedier execution of justice. Amongst these courts are the associate circuit court, the small claims court, the municipal courts, the probate, and the criminal court.
There are also specialized courts that function under the aegis of the circuit courts like the family and the juvenile courts, the teen court, the drugs court, the mental health court, and the truancy court. Throughout the years, Missouri court decisions have shown that these courts have consistently been successful in tracing the root causes of criminal involvement and undertake "problem-solving? measures.
Missouri Courts
Amongst the federal courts of Missouri are federal circuit courts, the federal district courts, and the federal bankruptcy courts.
The federal circuit court in the state of Missouri is the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 8th Circuit with its jurisdiction extending over Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota. This appellate court hears appeals that arise at the district court level and within the federal administrative bodies.
The federal district and bankruptcy courts in Missouri have been set up in the Western District of Missouri. The district courts are the trial courts operating within the federal court system and are governed by the laws of the Constitution and the Congress. The bankruptcy courts are the independent units of the district courts.
The court system of Missouri has spread its arms far and wide to ensure that justice has no loopholes.
