Located in the Midwestern portion of the US, Missouri sits in the Eighth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. It is the 18th most populous state with over 6 million residents with the largest urban-areas being Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis, and Columbia. The capital city is Jefferson City, which is situated on the Missouri River.

Some of the largest companies are based out of Missouri including Wells Fargo, H&R Block, Edward Jones, and O’Reilly Auto Parts, among others. The state’s economy is driven by many factors, including alcohol/beer, as one of the largest breweries, Anheuser-Busch, is located in the state. Aerospace, transportation, chemicals, food processing, printing, and financial sector services, are among the other major sources of economic development in the state.

The University of Missouri has campuses throughout the state, with a main campus in Columbia, Missouri.  Additional campuses are in St. Louis, Kansas City, Cape Girardeau and Marysville.  Washington University is a major educational institution in St. Louis, along with St. Louis University. 

The most recent constitution was put in place in 1945, and it divides the state government into a judicial, legislative and executive branch.

The legislative branch consists of the Missouri General Assembly.  It is bicameral, and consists of a 34-member Senate and a 163- member House of Representatives.  Representatives in both bodies are subject to term limits.

The executive branch is led by the state’s governor and lieutenant governor.  Additionally, heads of other state departments are elected as well, such as the Missouri Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and State Auditor, but only the State Treasurer is subject to term limits.

The judicial branch consists of the Missouri Supreme Court, which is the highest court in Missouri.

The state intermediate appellate court is the Missouri Court of Appeals. This Court of Appeals is split into three districts: Western (based in Kansas City), Eastern (based in St. Louis), and Southern (based in Springfield). The state trial courts of general jurisdiction are the 45 Missouri Circuit Courts and Associate Circuit Courts within each Circuit Court.

The National Law Review covers stories and news from the state of Missouri which impacts its residents, and the rest of the country. Judicial actions, ordinances, election news, workplace and discrimination cases, right to work, sexual-misconduct, and taxpayer legislation, are among the stories covered throughout the state. Visitors to the National Law Review will regularly find updated stories and news coverage from the state of Missouri on the NLR website.