David Kays
David Gregory Kays (b.1962) is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Kays has served on the court since 2008, after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He was chief judge of the court from 2014 to 2019.
Early life and education
Kays earned his bachelor's degree from Southwest Missouri State University in 1985, and his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1987.[1]
Professional career
- 1995-2008: Twenty-sixth Judicial Circuit, Missouri
- 2005-2008: Presiding judge
- 1995-2004: Associate circuit judge
- 1991-2004: Adjunct faculty, Drury University
- 1989-1995: Laclede County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Missouri
- 1991-1995: Prosecuting attorney
- 1989-1991: Chief assistant prosecuting attorney
- 1988-1989: Assistant prosecuting attorney
- 1989: Assistant public defender, Office of the Special Public Defender, Springfield, Missouri
- 1988-1989: Attorney in private practice, Missouri[1]
Judicial career
Western District of Missouri
Kays was nominated by President George W. Bush on November 15, 2007, to a seat vacated by Dean Whipple. Kays was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 10, 2008, and received commission on June 19, 2008.[1] Kays was elevated to the role of chief judge on January 3, 2014, succeeding Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. He served in this position until 2019.[2]
Noteworthy cases
Bank robbery case (2009)
Judge Kays presided in a bank robbery case that differed from most bank robbery cases in federal court. This case involved a bank robber who turned himself in before the federal authorities could identify him as a suspect. Kays sentenced the robber to five years in federal prison on October 6, 2009.[3]
See also
- United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
External links
- Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of David Gregory Kays"
- Western District of Missouri, "Biography: U.S. Chief District Judge David Gregory Kays," accessed May 30, 2014
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri 2008-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri
State courts:
Missouri Supreme Court • Missouri Court of Appeals • Missouri Circuit Courts • Missouri Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Missouri • Missouri judicial elections • Judicial selection in Missouri
