The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is the federal appellate court which hears appeals from the following districts: the Southern District of Iowa, Northern District of Iowa, Western District of Missouri, Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Arkansas, Eastern District of Arkansas, District of Minnesota, District of Nebraska, District of South Dakota and District of North Dakota.

The court is based in St. Louis, Missouri at the Thomas F. Eagleton courthouse. The physical address is 111 South 10th Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. The general phone number for the clerk's office is 314-244-2400.

There are currently 10 active judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and five senior judges. One of the 10 active judges holds the office of chief judge, which is rotated among all active judges. This office mainly performs daily administrative duties of the court. In order to become a chief judge, a judge must be at least 70 years old or have served for at least seven years. If no active judges meet these criteria, however, they are waived.

The main website for the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is found at www.ca8.uscourts.gov/. This site offers contact information for court employees, information on how to file an appeal, court rules and fees, online forms, oral arguments and a court calendar, judicial complaints procedures and even a list of local hotels for anyone traveling to the court.

There is also a link available to PACER, which is the online database which allows registered users to search for court documents from almost anywhere. Online court document filing is also available to anyone who registers to use the system, but it is suggested that first-time users complete the online training for the system before using it.