APPELLATE JUDGES MEET IN JACKSON

JACKSON -- The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District convened at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson Tuesday to hear arguments for cases appealed from Cape Girardeau and Perry counties.

Chief Judge Mary Rhodes Russell and eight other judges heard cases in three, three-judge panels. It was the first time a state appeals court had met at the courthouse in 125 years.

Attorneys were allowed 15 minutes to present their arguments. They answered questions from the panel regarding relevant legal cases, whether the court had jurisdiction over the appeal questions, and what judgments were being sought.

Attorneys petitioned the court to overturn trial decisions regarding visitation rights for grandparents, sale of real estate, and personal injury caused by character defamation. In one case, two neighbors were in court because of a disagreement regarding the use of a common driveway between their properties.

Judge Sherri Sullivan said the appeals court always hears a variety of cases. However, the Jackson visit was unusual because it lacked any criminal cases.

Each panel will discuss the cases and make judgments over the next two months. In each case, one of the judges will write an opinion outlining how members of the panel voted and why the judgment was made.

Jackson High School business law and current- events classes attended court sessions and spoke with judges during recesses. Russell told students her court averages about 30 days from the time judges hear a case to when they deliver an opinion. Despite the short turnaround, the panels must pay close attention to each case they hear because the Supreme Court only hears about 3 percent of the appeals.

"We have to take every criminal and civil case, but they have discretion, so for most people the last decision they're going to get is with us," she said.

Judge Paul Simon told students that the attorney who raises the most accurate legal points of error made by a trial judge is the one who will win an appellate decision. It costs very little to get an appeal heard, but that's only the first step, he said.

"After you pay your 50 bucks -- which you don't get back -- if you don't have good points, then your appeal won't be successful," Simon said.