Judge Alok Ahuja will preside over a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District convening at Missouri Western Oct. 4.

For the sixteenth consecutive year, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District will convene court at Missouri Western State University. The Court will sit at Missouri Western on Friday, October 4, 2013.

A three-judge panel consisting of Alok Ahuja, Thomas Newton and Rex Gabbert will hear oral arguments in four cases. Arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m., and will once again be held in the Kemper Recital Hall, located in Spratt Hall.

Chief Judge James Welsh explained that the cases are appeals from previously held trials in area circuit courts. During oral argument, the three-judge panel will hear attorneys argue whether error occurred in the trial below requiring retrial or reversal of the trial court’s judgment. Welsh also commented that the judges read written arguments before the court session, and may interrupt arguments from the attorneys with questions.

The judges will break at some point during the session to explain the judicial system in general and the appellate judiciary in particular, Welsh said.

The Court has made it a practice to convene yearly in St. Joseph. It regularly convenes in Kansas City and has jurisdiction over appeals from trial courts in 45 counties in western and central Missouri.

Ahuja will preside over the proceedings at Missouri Western. He was a member in the law office of Lathrop & Gage, L.C., prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2007. Newton was appointed to the Western District in 1999, and previously served as a circuit judge in Jackson County, Missouri. Gabbert was appointed to the Court in the spring of 2013, and is the newest member of the Western District. Before his appointment, he served as a trial judge for the circuit court of Clay County.

“It is important for the Court to convene oral arguments outside of Kansas City,” Ahuja said. “This gives individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see. We hope those attending will gain a better understanding of the Court’s function.”

During the past 22 years, the Court has held sessions in Chillicothe, Clinton, Columbia, Fulton, Gallatin, Huntsville, Independence, Jefferson City, Keytesville, Kirksville, Lexington, Liberty, Linneus, Macon, Marshall, Maryville, Milan, Moberly, Nevada, Platte City, Richmond, St. Joseph, Savannah, Trenton, Tuscumbia and Warrensburg.

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.