Missouri Court Rules • Rules of Procedure
Note: A compilation of statewide rules (such as rules of civil procedure) can be found on the Supreme Court’s web site.
Local Court Rules • U.S. Court Rules
For state circuit courts not listed here, local rules might be accessible through a page at the Missouri judicial branch web site.
Ordinances are local laws, commonly organized into codes, that have been enacted by municipalities — cities, towns, etc. — and counties. Charters are organic laws (similar in function to a constitution) of those local government entities for which “home rule” is authorized by state law. For local laws not found through the links given here, try the county web sites and municipality web sites at “State and Local Government on the Net” by Piper Resources, or a publisher’s web site:
Charters
Note that a charter could be included in a collection of ordinances (see below) instead of being separately accessible.
County Ordinances
Click on the button keyed to the name of the county. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.
Municipal Ordinances
Click on the button keyed to the name of the municipality. NOTE: On some web sites, selecting the state is necessary for access to the ordinances link.
Missouri Media Law Handbook [Missouri Bar] — Thorough layman’s guide to defamation, invasion of privacy, journalists’ right of privacy, the Missouri sunshine law (open meetings and open records), a practical guide to sunshine law matters, obtaining information from public records, the federal Freedom of Information Act, access to government information in the computer age, recording events in Missouri’s courtrooms, use of intellectual property in the media, reporter’s privilege, the developing law of the internet and electronic communications, media liability insurance, eavesdropping, wiretapping and hidden cameras, negligence and incitement (when media expose others to physical danger), and media employment contracts. See also the News Reporter’s Handbook (below), which provides more basic information.
News Reporter’s Handbook [Missouri Press-Bar Commission] — Basic layman’s guide to sources of law, the court system in Missouri, the criminal case, the civil case, the juvenile courts, extraordinary remedies, sources of information, understanding court opinions, libel and privacy, the Missouri sunshine law, the courts and media, standards of conduct, judges and attorneys, and bar associations, along with a glossary.
See also links to state court web sites, maintained by the National Center for State Courts. Additionally, the Ballotpedia.org web site presents information about courts and judges in the state, covering both state courts and federal courts, in a Wikipedia-style format.
Missouri Court Forms — Jury Instructions These are occasional orders by the Missouri Supreme Court, modifying or promulgating jury instructions (for use in both civil and criminal cases).
Business Entity Forms [Paracorp, Inc. (Cal.)] — Convenient interface to view and print in-blank official state forms (in PDF files) for filing by business entities. A JavaScript-enabled browser is required.
Bankruptcy Law and Procedures for Missouri Residents [Calicchia & Kinast LLP (Ohio)] — This web site, presented by a Cleveland bankruptcy law firm, covers basic information about the bankruptcy process, describes debt consolidation and credit counseling as alternatives to bankruptcy, lists the property that an individual is allowed to keep (with citations to governing provisions of Missouri law), and gives information about the bankruptcy courts and how to contact bankruptcy attorneys in Missouri.
Legal Services of Missouri This site provides a directory (“Information on the location and phone numbers of Legal Services offices as well as other organizations that may be able to provide assistance.”) as well as court forms, informational pamphlets, and legal articles.
WomensLaw.org — Sources of Legal Help [WomensLaw.org (N.Y.)] — Sources of legal help (not limited to legal help for women) include statewide domestic-violence resources, local domestic-violence resources listed by city or town, free or low-cost legal services, and lawyer referral services.
“The essence of legal research in two words . . . see ALSO!”