Rule 30.32 Designation and Organization of the Appellate Courts

This rule explains which appellate courts handle criminal case appeals in Missouri. It works by borrowing the same rule that already applies to civil cases, which is Rule 82. Instead of creating separate rules for how appeals are organized in criminal cases, the courts decided to just use the existing civil rule for both types of cases.

For someone involved in a criminal appeal, this means the same system that sorts and organizes civil appeals also applies to your case. You do not need to look for different rules about court structure or where your appeal goes. The process follows the same setup already used in civil matters.