Cynthia L. Martin elected chief judge of Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, elected Cynthia L. Martin as chief judge. Judge Martin's two-year term begins July 1, 2020.
The chief judge serves as the chief administrative officer of the Court. The chief judge’s duties include presenting the Court’s budget to the legislature and approving all financial transactions involving the Court. The chief judge also assigns the Court's 11 judges to panels that will hear appeals and petitions for extraordinary writs, and designates the presiding judges of those panels. The chief judge works closely with the clerk of the Court in considering and ruling on motions presented to the Court, and presides over the monthly conference of the judges. As part of her duties, Martin will chair the Sixth, Seventh and Sixteenth circuit judicial commissions. These judicial nominating commissions are responsible for selecting three-person panels for consideration by the governor when judicial vacancies occur in those circuits, as a part of the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan.
Judge Martin was appointed to the Western District in October 2009. Prior to her appointment, she was a private practitioner for 25 years, with a practice that emphasized commercial litigation, general business representation, public law representation, and business and real estate transactions.
Judge Martin graduated from Lee's Summit High School and earned her undergraduate degrees from William Jewell College. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
Martin issued the following statement: “The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has a long history of serving the citizens of the state by providing timely, thorough, and reasoned analysis of the legal issues presented to us. Maintenance of the public trust in our system of justice, and of the integrity of an independent judiciary, are foundational principles that guide the Court's work. I am humbled by the Court's trust, and will endeavor during my term as chief judge to ensure that the Court continues to efficiently, effectively, and fairly serve the citizens of the state of Missouri. ”
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Contact: Susan C. Sonnenberg, clerk of court Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District (816) 889-3600