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January 2007
Revised Edition of the News Reporter's Handbook on Law and Courts Is Available Now Free From The Missouri Bar
Local, Specialty Bar Organizations Offer Wealth of Information
Revised Edition of the News Reporter's Handbook on Law and Courts Is Available Now Free From The Missouri Bar
For more than a decade, the News Reporter’s Handbook on Law and Courts has been a trusted source of information for Missouri reporters who cover trials and the courts. The handbook was originally published in 1991 by The Missouri Press-Bar Commission and distributed widely by the Missouri Press Association and the Missouri Broadcasters Association. The newest edition, completed in December, was updated by Daniel G. Curry, a former journalist who turned in his press card for a law degree, returning to the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He is now a practicing lawyer. If you do not have the revised 2006 edition, you can receive one free from The Missouri Bar. Call 573-638-2251 or email jack.wax@mobar.org for your copy.
Covering a court case is never a simple task. Not only do reporters have the usual problems of getting access to sources and trying to put the story in context, but there’s another entire level of complexity to court cases: the world of court procedures, laws and the legal environment that includes the interactions among lawyers, clients and judges. This, too, must be understood, navigated and provided to news audiences.
The News Reporter’s Handbook can help reporters find their way through that legal environment. Its 13 chapters provide guidance through criminal, civil and juvenile trials. It also provides the background on Missouri’s court systems, covering state courts, military courts and the federal courts. Its glossary serves as a mini-legal dictionary. A few seconds after opening the handbook, reporters who check the glossary will be able to cut through the legal jargon that is part and parcel of every court case.
The handbook also includes chapters on Missouri’s Sunshine Law, libel and privacy, and the free press/fair trial conflict. For reporters who are new to the courts and cops beat, the handbook is an essential tool. For experienced reporters, the handbook is an easy-to-use reference that offers a thorough overview of Missouri’s court procedures.
A copy of the handbook is also available online.
Local, Specialty Bar Organizations Offer Wealth of Information
Lawyers are joiners. Missouri has about 90 local and specialty bar associations, and each fills a niche for its members. All practicing lawyers in the state must be members of The Missouri Bar, but the decision to join other bars is a matter of choice. Typically, lawyers belong to a variety of bar associations – some local, some statewide and some national.
The president of a local or specialty bar association is a good source for reporters to get to know. Every bar association chooses a president, who continues practicing law while assuming some responsibilities for the association. By virtue of holding the office for a year, the president of an association probably has a good understanding of the legal community and what’s happening in it.
One caveat: The bigger the bar association, the more likely that it is an active organization. Some smaller bar associations may meet once or twice a year and do little more than provide lawyers a chance to get to know each other better. Active bar associations, such as the Boone County Bar Association, may have a website and offer social and educational programs for members. Large bar associations, such as those in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield, typically have staffs and a headquarters office.
LOCAL AND SPECIALTY BAR ASSOCIATIONS
Adair County Bar Association
Joshua Jerome Meyer, President
Kirksville, (660) 665-4300
Andrew County Bar Association
Clifford Paul Black Jr., President
Savannah, (816) 324-4469
Asian American Bar Association of Kansas City
Yabo Lin, President
Kansas City, (816) 460-2553
Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City
Tracy Lynn Bornman, President
Kansas City, (816) 474-9050
Audrain County Bar Association
Jason Harris Lamb, President
Mexico, (573) 473-5860
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Lynn Whaley Vogel, President
Clayton, (314) 961-0050
Barton County Bar Association
James Vaughn Nichols, President
Lamar, (417) 682-6003
Boone County Bar Association
Bruce Harty Beckett, President
Columbia, (573) 443-3141
Butler County Bar Association
Matthew D. Richardson, President
Poplar Bluff, (573) 686-7281
Callaway County Bar Association
Robert Reynolds Sterner, President
Fulton, (573) 642-0714
Camden County Bar Association
William James Icenogle, President
Camdenton, (573) 346-4440
Cape Girardeau County Bar Association
Tom K. O’Loughlin II, President
Cape Girardeau, (573) 334-9104
Carroll County Bar Association
Kevin Lee Walden, President
Carrollton, (660) 542-2494
Cass County Bar Association
Aaron Lee Aurand, President
Belton, (816) 380-3238
Clay County Bar Association
Michael S. Shipley, President
Liberty, (816) 781-0299
Clinton County Bar Associatoin
George E. Proctor, Jr.
Liberty, (816) 471-7466
Cole County Bar Association
Bill L. Thompson, President
Ashland, (573) 751-7317
Cooper County Bar Association
Richard Glen Pierce, President
New Franklin, (660) 882-7577
Dent County Bar Association
Mark Edward Weaver, President
Salem, (573) 729-7733
Dunklin County Bar Association
John Hall Dalton Jr, President
Kennett, (573) 888-4631
Eastern Jackson County Bar Association
John William Gannan II, President
Blue Springs, (816) 220-906 6
Gasconade County Bar Association
Ada Mae Brehe-Krueger, President
Hermann, (573) 486-2173
Henry County Bar Association
Robert Lee Cox, President
Clinton, (660) 885-2221
Hispanic Bar Association of Kansas City
George Roman Gomez, President
Kansas City, (816) 356-2100
Howard County Bar Association
Honorable Gary G. Sprick, President
Fayette, (660) 248-3326
Jackson County Bar Association
Keith Anthony Cutler, President
Kansas City, (816) 471-8575
Jasper County Bar Association
Dean Gerald Dankelson, President
Joplin, (417) 625-4314
Jefferson County Bar Association
Edward Louis Page, President
Festus, (636) 931-5477
Johnson County Bar Association
Troy Dennis Losh-North, President
Warrensburg, (660) 429-1006
Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
Charles Walter German, President
Kansas City, (816) 471-7700
Laclede County Bar Association
Robert Edward O’Neil, President
Lebanon, (417) 532-2101
Lafayette County Bar Association
Kellie Wingate Ritchie, President
Lexington, (660) 259-6110
Lawyers Association of Kansas City
Paula L. Brown, President
Kansas City, (816) 941-7600
Lawyers Association of St. Louis
James Robert Cantalin, President
St. Louis, (314) 854-8645
Lawyers for Equality
Jason Ryan Hall, President
St. Louis, (314) 259-2000
Lincoln County Bar Association
James David Beck, President
Troy, (636) 528-8518
Livingston County Bar Association
Michael Richard Leamer, President
Chillicothe, (660) 646-4522
Mississippi County Bar Association
Reginald E. Young, President
Charleston, (573) 683-3623
Missouri Asian Bar Association
Angela See-Wai Yee, President
St. Louis, (314) 503-3517
Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
Thomas Lee Stewart, President
St. Louis, (314) 588-7200
Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
Jack T. Bangert, President
Kansas City, (816) 471-6900
Missouri Chapter-National Academy of Elder Law
Mary Ramsay McCormick, President
Liberty, (816) 505-1999
Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Scott Cameron Hamilton, President
Lexington, (660) 259-2277
Missouri Municipal Attorneys Association
Corinne Nushin Darvish, President
St. Louis, (314) 862-0200
Moniteau County Bar Association
Ann Marie Perry, President
California, (573) 796-2113
Montgomery County Bar Association
David K. Dowling, President
Montgomery City, (573) 564-3756
Mound City Bar Association
Pamela Jean Meanes, President
St. Louis, (314) 552-6349
Newton/McDonald County Bar Assn.
Janice Lynne Durbin, President
Anderson, (417) 845-1005
Pettis County Bar Association
Sean Philip Pilliard, President
Sedalia, (660) 829-2008
Phelps County Bar Association
Emily Lyn Woodward, President
Rolla, (573) 341-3655
Platte County Bar Association
David Bryant King III, President
Platte City, (816) 858-5080
Pulaski County Bar Association
Kevin Scott Hillman, President
Waynesville, (573) 336-0788
Randolph County Bar Association
Jay William Kimmons III, President
Moberly, (660) 263-9000
Saline County Bar Association
Jill Harriman, President
Marshall, (660) 831-0300
Scott County Bar Association
Boyd Andrew Green, President
Sikeston, (573) 481-1111
Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association
Clifford Scott Brown, President
Springfield, (417) 447-4400
St. Charles County Bar Association
Timothy Alexander Lohmar, President
St. Peters, (636) 441-5400
St. Charles County Bar Association
Jane Ellen Tomich, President
St. Charles, (636) 947-0550
St. Joseph Bar Association
Kenneth Eric Siemens, President
St. Joseph, (816) 364-6677
St. Louis County Bar Association
M. DeAnn Outlaw, President
St. Louis, (314) 569-2002
Stoddard County Bar Association
Justin Lee Kelley, President
Dexter, (573) 624-5901
Taney County Bar Association
Jeffrey Michael Merrell, President
Forsyth, (417) 546-6281
Texas County Bar Association
Brad D. Eidson, President
Houston, (417) 967-4747
Vernon County Bar Association
Brandon Burroughs Fisher, President
Nevada, (417) 667-5500
Warren County Bar Association
Timothy Michael Joyce, President
Warrenton, (636) 456-4300
Webster County Bar Association
Cynthia R. Black, President
Marshfield, (417) 859-2546
Women Lawyers Association of Greater
St. Louis
Lynn Ricci, President
St. Louis, (314) 647-1200
Women Lawyers Association of Mid-Missouri
C. Michelle Coleman, President
Jefferson City, (573) 556-6953
3rd Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Jason Slade Spillman, President
Trenton, (660) 339-7333
4th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Beverly Jones Kimes, President
Tarkio, (660) 736-4221
9th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Dale L. Linneman, President
Keytesville, (660) 288-3647
10th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Vicki Adele Dempsey, President
Hannibal, (573) 221-2150
20th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
David Philip Politte, President
Washington, (636) 239-1616
24th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Edward M. Pultz, President
Farmington, (573) 756-6748
27th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Joleene Victoria Wood, President
Osceola, (660) 885-6128
34th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Amy Michelle Phillips, President
New Madrid, (573) 748-5144
37th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Todd F. Thorn, President
West Plains, (417) 256-5109
39th Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Ryan Ferel Ricketts, President
Marionville, (417) 258-7000
41st Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Frederick Paul Tucker, President
Moberly, (660) 385-5540
42nd Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Honorable Kelly Wayne Parker, President
Salem, (573) 546-2511
43rd Judicial Circuit Bar Association
Robert B. Paden, President
Maysville, (816) 449-2656
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