Local Rule 83.9: ASSIGNMENT OF CASES
W.D. Mo. — General rule
83.9 ASSIGNMENT OF CASES
(a) Assignment of New Cases. Unless otherwise provided in a statute, federal rule, or order of the Court en banc, the Clerk must assign newly filed matters among the qualified judges by blind draw. Judges are considered qualified unless they have given blanket recusal instructions to the Clerk in writing.
(b) Temporary Case Management by Another Judge. If a judge assigned to a case is unavailable or so requests, any other judge may enter an order in that case, subject to Rule 72.1.
(c) Transfer of Cases. The Clerk must transfer a case to another judge if:
1. The transferring judge and the receiving judge mutually consent;
2. The case is on a joint trial docket, and the Chief District Judge certifies that reassigning the case would promote its prompt and efficient disposition;
3. The case is a refiling of a previously dismissed case, in which instance the refiled case must be transferred to the judge last handling the dismissed case; or 4. The case is related to another case filed in the District, in which instance the later filed case must be transferred to the judge with the earlier-filed case, regardless of whether the earliest filed case is pending.