St. Louis Circuit Court

City: St. Louis

State: Missouri

The Circuit Court of St. Louis, Missouri, traced its origins to January 1815, when Congress divided the Missouri Territory into two circuits, with the towns of St. Louis, St. Charles, and Washington constituting the northern circuit. Upon its creation, the circuit court handled all criminal and civil cases for the city and county. In 1839, the Missouri General Assembly created the St. Louis Criminal Court to allow the circuit court to concentrate on civil business. The circuit court exercised jurisdiction in the city and county until 1877, when separate county and city courts were established.

J. Thomas Scharf, History of Saint Louis City and County (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1883), 2:1451, 1452, 1453; "Historical Notes and Comments," Missouri Historical Review 57 (April 1963), 308.