Nov 15, 2017
Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton has filed an application for transfer in the Missouri Supreme Court on behalf of the Cole County (Missouri) Assessor. The case, Union Electric (Ameren) v Estes (No. SC96781) is the lead appeal among those from 16 counties where Ameren sought lower assessments on natural gas distribution property. The amount ultimately at issue is significant to school districts and others who rely on property tax: the amount could be as much as $600,000 annually in Cole County
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Oct 17, 2017
In two October presentations, attorney Jim Layton of Tueth Keeney is training attorneys general in the United States about the art of legal writing. On October 13, Jim delivered a presentation on “Legal Writing in the Digital Age” to all the attorneys in the Utah Attorney General’s office. Later in the month of October, Jim will address the same topic as a faculty member “” for the seventh time “” at the NAGTRI Persuasive Legal
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Sep 13, 2017
Today Tueth Keeney attorney Jim Layton, formerly Missouri Solicitor General, spoke in the plenary session of the Missouri Judicial Conference in Kansas City. The Conference includes Missouri’s 142 circuit judges, 201 associate circuit judges, and 39 court of appeals and supreme court judges. Jim’s topic was, “Five things every Missouri judge should know about the Missouri constitution.” The “five things” Jim discussed are:
- It’s not very old.
- It’s not a delegation of power.
- It’s about procedure, not
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Jun 29, 2017
On July 13, Jim Layton of Tueth Keeney will join University of Missouri Law School Professor Emeritus Carl Esbeck speaking about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer. The event at the United States Courthouse is sponsored by the Federal Bar Association, the Federalist Society, and the Federal Practice Committee of the U.S. District Court. Jim, formerly Missouri’s Solicitor General, argued
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Jun 26, 2017
The United States Supreme Court ruled today in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer, argued in April by Tueth Keeney attorney James Layton. The case arose from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources applying Missouri’s long-standing constitutional provision barring money from the public treasury from being given to a church. Similar language is found in constitutions in most other states. Here, the constitutional language was applied to exclude the preschool ministry of Trinity Lutheran
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Jun 22, 2017
Jim Layton, head of Tueth Keeney’s appellate practice group, was on the faculty of the 2017 “Appellate Forum,” an annual training program for all Missouri appellate judges, held at the University of Missouri Law School on June 22. Jim’s topic was “Five Things Every Judge Should Know About the Missouri Constitution.” Jim often taught State Constitutional Law during his 20 years as a adjunct professor at
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Jun 13, 2017
Nearly six years ago, the Board of Regents for what was then called Linn State Technical College required drug testing for all students. This month, the court challenge to that policy, which began in September 2011, came to a quiet end as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the case. The State Technical College policy was intended “to provide a safe, healthy and productive environment for everyone who learns and works at Linn State Technical college by detecting, preventing
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May 19, 2017
On May 19, Tueth Keeney’s Jim Layton spoke on “The Leap from e-Filing to e-Briefing” at the Kansas Bar’s 2017 Appellate Practice CLE in Topeka, Kansas. Jim is a member and former Chair of the American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers. As part of the Council, in 2016 Jim served on the committee that researched and wrote the report from which Jim’s presentation took its name: “The Leap from
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Apr 28, 2017
Jim Layton, who heads Tueth Keeney’s Appellate Practice Group, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 19, 2017. Layton represented the Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, a case challenging a provision of Missouri’s constitution that bars money from the “public treasury” from being given to churches. It was Layton’s fourth argument before the Court. The case received national attention, both because of the important federalism and First Amendment
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Mar 3, 2017
Tueth Keeney is pleased to announce that James R. (“Jim”) Layton, former Solicitor General of Missouri, has joined the Firm as Of Counsel. While in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Jim argued three cases in the United States Supreme Court, 92 in the Missouri Supreme Court, and 100 in other state and federal appellate courts on behalf of the State. He worked extensively on matters involving constitutional, administrative and election law; state education law; and state taxation. Jim was
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James R. Layton