Missouri Court of Appeals to Convene on campus

02/02/2026

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, is scheduled to convene court Wednesday, Feb. 4, at William Jewell College. The arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at Yates-Gill College Union on campus, and all are welcome to attend.

The three-judge panel consists of Jewell alumni Judge Cindy Martin '81 and Judge Gary Witt '87, along with Chief Judge Anthony Rex Gabbert (presiding), a former Jewell adjunct professor. They will hear oral arguments in four cases on the docket, then will discuss the court system and take general questions from the audience.

Gabbert joined the Western District in 2013. Prior to that, he served as a municipal judge, associate circuit judge, and a circuit judge in Clay County. He also served as an adjunct professor at William Jewell College from 1998 to 2014. Martin was appointed to the Western District in 2009. She practiced law in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit before joining the court and is a Jewell Alumni Citation for Achievement recipient. Witt was appointed to the Western District in 2010. Immediately prior to his appointment, he served as an associate circuit judge in Platte County (in the 6th Judicial Circuit). Previously, he practiced law in Platte County and served in the Missouri House of Representatives.

The court typically convenes court in Kansas City. For more than 25 years, however, the court has held dockets in several of the 45 counties in the court’s jurisdiction, which includes all of northwest Missouri and most of central Missouri. The court hears oral arguments outside Kansas City to give individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see and to familiarize those attending with the court’s role in the judicial system.