District Court · Eighth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
The federal trial court. Juries sit here, evidence is heard here, and almost every federal case begins here.
The bench
Who sits on this court?
Judges in active service, when they were confirmed, and who nominated each.
| Judge | Since | Nominated by | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Frederic Sachs Senior | 1979 | Jimmy Carter | MOWD0701 |
| Dean Whipple Senior | 1987 | Ronald Reagan | MOWD0505 |
| Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. Senior | 1991 | George H.W. Bush | MOWD0109 |
| Ortrie D. Smith Senior | 1995 | William J. Clinton | MOWD0702 |
| Gary A. Fenner Senior | 1996 | William J. Clinton | MOWD0602 |
| Nanette Kay Laughrey Senior | 1996 | William J. Clinton | MOWD0404 |
| Rodney W. Sippel Senior | 1997 | William J. Clinton | MOWD0307 |
| David Gregory Kays | 2008 | George W. Bush | MOWD0506 |
| Mary Elizabeth Phillips | 2012 | Barack Obama | MOWD0703 |
| Brian Curtis Wimes | 2012 | Barack Obama | MOWD0405 |
| M. Douglas Harpool Senior | 2014 | Barack Obama | MOWD0207 |
| Stephen Rogers Bough | 2014 | Barack Obama | MOWD0110 |
| Roseann Ambrosia Ketchmark | 2015 | Barack Obama | MOWD0603 |
| Joshua Michael Divine | 2025 | Donald J. Trump | MOWD0308 |
| Megan Blair Benton | 2026 | Donald J. Trump | MOWD0208 |
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
What seats does this court have?
Each seat on this court, who holds it, and how many judges have held it before.
- Judges seated now
- 15
- Seat numbers on record
- 43
| Seat | Held by | Since | Holders to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOWD0109 | Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. | 1991 | 1 |
| MOWD0110 | Stephen Rogers Bough | 2014 | 1 |
| MOWD0207 | M. Douglas Harpool | 2014 | 1 |
| MOWD0208 | Megan Blair Benton | 2026 | 1 |
| MOWD0307 | Rodney W. Sippel | 1997 | 1 |
| MOWD0308 | Joshua Michael Divine | 2025 | 1 |
| MOWD0404 | Nanette Kay Laughrey | 1996 | 1 |
| MOWD0405 | Brian Curtis Wimes | 2012 | 1 |
| MOWD0505 | Dean Whipple | 1987 | 1 |
| MOWD0506 | David Gregory Kays | 2008 | 1 |
| MOWD0602 | Gary A. Fenner | 1996 | 1 |
| MOWD0603 | Roseann Ambrosia Ketchmark | 2015 | 1 |
| MOWD0701 | Howard Frederic Sachs | 1979 | 1 |
| MOWD0702 | Ortrie D. Smith | 1995 | 1 |
| MOWD0703 | Mary Elizabeth Phillips | 2012 | 1 |
28 seat numbers with no sitting judge
These are seat numbers in the historical record with nobody currently in them. That usually means the seat was abolished or renumbered, not that it is open today — Congress has changed the size of federal courts many times. Do not read this as a vacancy list.
| Seat | Last held by | Until | Holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOWD0101 | Robert William Wells | 1864 | 1 |
| MOWD0102 | Arnold Krekel | 1888 | 1 |
| MOWD0103 | John Finis Philips | 1910 | 1 |
| MOWD0104 | Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh | 1925 | 1 |
| MOWD0105 | Merrill E. Otis | 1944 | 1 |
| MOWD0106 | Albert Alphonso Ridge | 1961 | 1 |
| MOWD0107 | William Henry Becker | 1992 | 1 |
| MOWD0108 | Russell Gentry Clark | 2000 | 1 |
| MOWD0201 | Albert L. Reeves | 1971 | 1 |
| MOWD0202 | Charles Evans Whittaker | 1956 | 1 |
| MOWD0203 | Randle Jasper Smith | 1962 | 1 |
| MOWD0204 | John Watkins Oliver | 1990 | 1 |
| MOWD0205 | D. Brook Bartlett | 2000 | 1 |
| MOWD0206 | Richard Everett Dorr | 2013 | 1 |
| MOWD0301 | John Caskie Collet | 1947 | 1 |
| MOWD0302 | Roy Winfield Harper | 1947 | 1 |
| MOWD0303 | Roy Winfield Harper | 1948 | 1 |
| MOWD0304 | Roy Winfield Harper | 1994 | 1 |
| MOWD0305 | Harris Kenneth Wangelin | 1987 | 1 |
| MOWD0306 | Stephen Nathaniel Limbaugh | 2008 | 1 |
| MOWD0401 | Richard M. Duncan | 1974 | 1 |
| MOWD0402 | William Robert Collinson | 1995 | 1 |
| MOWD0403 | Joseph Edward Stevens Jr. | 1998 | 1 |
| MOWD0501 | Floyd Robert Gibson | 1965 | 1 |
| MOWD0502 | Elmo Bolton Hunter | 2003 | 1 |
| MOWD0503 | John R. Gibson | 1982 | 1 |
| MOWD0504 | Ross Thompson Roberts | 1987 | 1 |
| MOWD0601 | Scott Olin Wright | 2016 | 1 |
This site does not publish a vacancy count. Seat identifiers are not stable across court renamings and reorganisations, so a seat that was vacated and refilled can appear empty when it is not. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes the authoritative list of current judicial vacancies: uscourts.gov.
Seats are created by Congress and filled by the President with the Senate's consent. For current vacancies, use the Administrative Office's published list rather than inferring them from this table.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)
How this bench was built
Who appointed them?
The tally of presidents who placed the sitting judges on this court.
- Democratic
- 10
- Republican
- 5
| President | Judges |
|---|---|
| Barack Obama | 5 |
| William J. Clinton | 4 |
| Donald J. Trump | 2 |
| George H.W. Bush | 1 |
| George W. Bush | 1 |
| Jimmy Carter | 1 |
| Ronald Reagan | 1 |
The party of the president who appointed a judge is a matter of record. How that judge will rule is not, and this site draws no inference from one to the other.
Source · Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789–present (public domain)