Appeals court conducts business in Scott County Courthouse

BENTON, Mo. -- History was in the making Tuesday in Scott County.

All seven judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, were in session at the Scott County Courthouse to hear oral arguments for an appeal on a workers compensation case.

It is believed this was an unprecedented event here.

"I don't think the Court of Appeals has ever sat in Scott County," said Robert S. Barney, the Southern District's senior-most ranking judge.

The appellate court session, held in the main courtroom of the Scott County Courthouse, was attended by a full house including Scott County judges, local attorneys and students from the Oran, Scott County Central, Charleston, Kelly and Scott City high schools.

Following the hearing, the seven appellate judges returned to the courtroom without their robes to field questions from the high school students and other members of the public attending the hearing.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District usually sits in Springfield and holds sessions in Poplar Bluff twice a year, according to Daniel Scott, the court's chief judge.

Barney said that as he is from Dexter, he was "a strong advocate" of bringing the court to Scott County for this hearing.

"We just wanted to bring the appellate process before people," he said.

"We appreciate opportunities to hear arguments outside our courthouses in Springfield and Poplar Bluff so we can give more citizens an opportunity to learn about their Court of Appeals and to observe, first-hand, how the appellate process works," Scott said.

In addition to being the court's first hearing this far east, it is also a "rare occasion" for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, to hear oral argument as a full court, according to Scott.

"It hasn't happened in 10 years," he said.

While all seven will often issue opinions on a case, oral arguments are usually heard by a panel of just three of the judges. The last time all seven sat together to hear a case was an appeal on a murder case in 1997.

Appellate Judge Gary W. Lynch explained the main purpose of hearing oral arguments is to provide an opportunity for attorneys to answer questions the judges may have.

Any "brilliant arguments" should be included in the written briefs, he said.

Barney said the case heard Tuesday, Randy A. Davidson v. Treasurer of the State of Missouri as Custodian of the Second Injury Fund, was probably "not the most exciting case on earth, but it's exciting to the people involved and important to the clients."

Davidson was appealing an April 20 decision by the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.

While working as a volunteer for the Butler County Fire Protection District, Davidson received neck and shoulder injuries.

During the five weeks he was unable to work, he received only the statutory minimum of $40 per week based on his volunteer status for the fire department.

Davidson believes he should have been paid the statutory maximum based on his income from his regular job, operating a dump truck he owns.

The Commission found that because Davidson's other job was as an owner-operator, he was not an employee of a qualified second employer and therefore did not qualify for second job wage loss benefits from the Second Injury Fund.

Asked about the court's decision on the appeal during the question-answer session, Lynch explained that each member of the court will provide a written opinion on the case after carefully studying written arguments.

"So that can take quite a bit of time," he said.

Generally, Lynch said, judges have their opinion out in 30-60 days, although "sometimes it takes much longer for a very complicated case."

While it may not have been as exciting as a murder case, many in the room found the proceedings far from boring.

"I thought it was very interesting," said Nathan Bryant, a junior at Kelly High School in Benton.

Lynch said at one time, trials "used to be a great form of entertainment" for which people would travel miles to attend. He said trials have, over the years, been replaced with other forms of entertainment.

While any judge on the court can request that a hearing include all seven judges, this particular case did not require it: Barney asked the other judges to come and were all happy to participate.

"We got invited here and no one wanted to miss the trip," Scott said. "We're as interested in you as you are in us."

Bryant said he was inspired by the experience enough that he is now considering pursuing a career in the legal system -- and may even decided to work his way up to a seat on one of the higher courts.