Western District Missouri Court of Appeals hears four cases at MoWest

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Missouri Western State University hosted the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals Tuesday.

This is the 24th year the university is hosting the event.

Judges Janet Sutton, Gary Witt and W. Douglas Thomson were the three judges in attendance.

The three-judge panel heard oral arguments on four cases. The four cases presented today have already been tried at a trial court level.

The four cases presented were: a first-degree murder, a termination of parental rights, the ownership and transfer of property and employment rights.

Suzanne Kissock, MoWest dean for the college of business and professional studies said there are multiple reasons why a case could be appealed.

"They get appealed because the lawyers are alleging that misconduct occurred or there was judicial error or some sort of legal error that needed to be reviewed by the next level of court, which is the court of appeals," she said.

Each lawyer got 15 minutes to talk about why the case should get appealed. The judges are allowed to extended the time if they believe the need additional time or if they have additional questions.

After all arguments were made, the judges discussed the court system and allowed the audience to ask questions.

Kissock said this is an excellent opportunity for the community to experience the law firsthand.

"We really want people to have access to understanding, to knowledge, so that they feel like they are empowered citizens. If you don't understand how government works, it can be very overwhelming and intimidating," she said.

The court holds oral arguments outside Kansas City to allow the public to familiarize itself with the internal workings of the judicial system.