Appeals Court Tosses $2.1M Verdict in Judicial Appointment Dispute

A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday overturned a $2.1 million verdict that jurors had awarded a Northland lawyer who claimed she was unfairly bypassed for a judicial appointment.

Lawyer Melissa Howard won the award in 2008 after a trial in which she argued the Kansas City Council acted improperly when it declined to select from a pool of finalists for a 2006 judicial vacancy and opted instead to seek a minority candidate for the job, the Kansas City Star reports.

But the Western District Court of Appeals reversed the verdict and held in its 15-page opinion (PDF) that the trial judge should have directed a verdict in the city's favor because the Missouri Human Rights Act doesn't apply to the city’s process for appointing municipal judges.

The court also denied Howard's motion for attorney fees.