Appellate court announces student art competition

ST. LOUIS – Chief Judge John P. Torbitzky has announced that the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will host a student art competition to commemorate the Court’s 150th Anniversary. The competition is open to all students in grades 1-12, including public, private, and homeschooled, within the territorial jurisdiction of the Eastern District. Students are instructed to express their view of “What do courts mean?” through their artwork. 

The Court will accept entries postmarked or hand-delivered by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2026. The artwork must be submitted in one of the following mediums: painting, drawing, prints, mixed media, or collage. The full list of guidelines may be found at: https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=225293. The artwork will be blind judged by judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on the following criteria: originality, design, technique, content, and appeal to the theme “What do courts mean?” The artwork will be divided into four age categories for judging, and the top three entries in each age group will receive a cash prize. All winners will also receive a certificate and have their artwork displayed in the Old Post Office location of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

The St. Louis Court of Appeals was created by the Constitution of 1875, at a time when the Missouri Supreme Court’s case load was congested with appeals from the St. Louis region. When the court officially opened for business on Monday, January 3, 1876, it was composed of three judges and located at the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. An amendment to the Missouri Constitution effective January 1, 1972, created the Missouri Court of Appeals as we know it today, consisting of three territorial jurisdictions.

Today, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, is the state’s largest appellate court, with offices in the historic Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis. There are fourteen judges on the court, which handles approximately 41 percent of the intermediate appellate caseload in Missouri. The Eastern District has jurisdiction over appeals from trial courts in 25 counties and the City of St. Louis. The court regularly hears cases in St. Louis, Hannibal, Cape Girardeau and other locations in the Eastern District. In 2026, the Court will celebrate its 150th anniversary with several events, including this art contest, a return to the Court’s original home with a special docket at the Old Courthouse, and a ceremony to be held at the Old Post Office.