Appeals court 'road show' is civic outreach

Travel is an important element of Missouri's Court of Appeals judicial role.

Chief Judge Nannette Baker, chief justice of Missouri's Eastern District Court of Appeals, said Wednesday's stop in Farmington, Mo., to hear seven cases was an ongoing outreach.

At least four high schools sent students to watch the hearings. After judges heard arguments for the first three cases, they paused to answer students' questions.

One student asked how the judges come up with an opinion. Baker said they make a preliminary decision after hearing a case, then decide which of them will write it up.

Three of the appeals court's 14 judges typically make two trips a year, one to the north and one to the south, often going to Cape Girardeau, Baker said. The judges' trip to Farmington this year, she said, is the first in a nearly a decade.

"We want people to understand what we do and how we work," she said. "You can always come to see a local court, but you can't always go to the Court of Appeals in St. Louis."

The Missouri Supreme Court is required by law to hear cases in Jefferson City, Mo.

-- Peg McNichol