By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
For the first time in 25 years, a Joplin attorney will serve on the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals.
Gov. Matt Blunt traveled to Joplin on Thursday to announce his appointment of Daniel E. Scott, 50, to the appellate court.
Said Blunt: "Daniel Scott's long history of varied and diverse legal practice will serve him well as he assumes the role of state appeals court judge. I am pleased he has agreed to accept this appointment to serve the people of the Southern District and state.''
Blunt, who announced the appointment in the lobby at City Hall, said judicial appointments are among the most important decisions he makes as governor because the judges he appoints will serve long after he has left the governor's mansion.
Scott said he appreciated the fact the governor traveled to Joplin to make the announcement in person.
"I would like to thank the governor for giving me the opportunity to have one of our own voices on the court of appeals,'' Scott said. "Geography is not everything, but knowing a judge on the court is important for our area.''
The last Joplin attorney to serve on the court was Rex Titus. George M. Flanigan, of Carthage, served on the court from 1974 to 1995. Four of the seven judges on the appeals court are from Springfield.
"This is the only job I would leave this job for,'' Scott said.
Speaking before more than two dozen well-wishers, Scott expressed gratitude to a host of local lawyers, judges and legal secretaries with whom he has worked during the past 25 years as a lawyer. Many of them were on hand for the announcement and many had written letters of support for Scott's nomination to the appeals court. Also on hand were Scott's wife, Trina, and his 8-year-old son, Joe.
Scott said his son was more excited about shaking hands with the governor than he was after learning about his father's new job.
Scott learned on Aug. 28 that he and two other lawyers had been nominated for the post by the Appellate Judicial Commission to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Kenneth W. Shrum, who retired Aug. 31 after serving more than 16 years on the court.
The other nominees were M. Susan Appelquist, sole practitioner with the Appelquist Law Offices in Mount Vernon and Springfield, and W. Edward Reeves, a partner in the firm of Ward & Reeves, of Caruthersville.
Scott is a partner in the firm of Copeland, Scott & Brown. He received a bachelor of science degree in mass communications in 1977 from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, and his law degree in 1980 from the University of Missouri-Columbia where he graduated second in his class.
Born at Herington, Kan., Scott was valedictorian of his class at Trenton High School in 1974.
Scott has been active with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Ronald McDonald House, the American Cancer Society and the Joplin Library Board.
Judges to the Missouri Court of Appeals are appointed under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan. Scott said the governor called him on Wednesday to tell him of the appointment, and that it would be announced on Thursday in Joplin.
Before meeting him on Thursday, Scott said the governor "would not have known me if I had walked into the room.''
Scott said he intends to start his new job at the end of the month after arrangements have been made for someone else to handle his clients.
The judges sit in three-member divisions that rotate on an annual basis. The court handles appeals from the circuit courts. If a party loses at the circuit-court level and believes a mistake was made, the party may file an appeal.
Jurisdiction
The appeals court handles all appeals from 44 counties across the southern part of the state except for those in the Missouri Supreme Court's exclusive jurisdiction. Historically, less than 10 percent of appeals from the appellate court are transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court.
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