Zel M. Fischer (born April 28, 1963) is an Associate Judge of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give ...

. Judge Fischer served a two-year term as chief justice from 2017 until 2019. A native of Watson, he received his undergraduate degree from

William Jewell College William Jewell College is a private liberal arts college in Liberty, Missouri. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and endowed with $10,000 by William Jewell. It was associated with the Missouri Baptist Conventi ...

and his law degree from the

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. While at

he was a member of the Alpha Delta Chapter of

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University, Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) i ...

. He was elected as a Republican to serve as Atchison County Judge in 2006 after private practice in Atchison, Nodaway and Holt counties for nearly 15 years. Following the

Missouri Plan The Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, also known as the merit plan, or some variation) is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940 and has been adopted by many states of the United States. ...

for the appointment of appellate judges in Missouri, Fischer was one of three candidates proposed to Governor

Matt Blunt Matthew Roy Blunt (born November 20, 1970) is an American former naval officer and politician who served as the List of governors of Missouri, 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in ...

by the state's Appellate Judicial Committee to replace Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. Blunt announced his appointment of Fischer on October 15, 2008 on the grounds of the

Atchison County, Missouri Atchison County is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,305. Its county seat is Rock Port. It was originally known as Allen County when it was detached from Holt Co ...

Courthouse in

Rock Port, Missouri Rock Port is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Missouri, Atchison County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,278 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Rock Port was laid out in 1851. The city, whic ...

. He cited Fischer's judicial philosophy of

strict interpretation In the United States, strict constructionism is a particular legal philosophy of judicial interpretation that limits or restricts such interpretation only to the exact wording of the law (namely the Constitution). Strict sense of the term ...

of the state's constitution and laws as the reason for his selection. He was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on October 23, 2008.

References

External links

* Ray Scherer (October 16, 2008).
Newest Justice Calls Atchison County Home
. "St. Joseph News-Press" * October 25, 2008.
Zel Fischer Informally Sworn in as Judge
. "St. Joseph News-Press"
Judge Zel Fischer
on the Missouri Supreme Court website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Zel M. 1963 births 21st-century American judges Living people People from Atchison County, Missouri Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni William Jewell College alumni Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Missouri