Zel M. Fischer, middle, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri, delivered his State of the Judiciary address Wednesday morning, January 24, 2018, during a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly in Jefferson City, Missouri. Pictured directly behind Fischer are Senator Dan Hegeman and Representative Allen Andrews.

Fischer had several family and friends in attendance at the address, including Atchison County Sheriff Dennis Martin and his wife, Phyllis, Zel’s daughters Madison (Fischer) Perry and Kenzie (Fischer) Hurst, grandson Levi Hurst, and mother Nancy Fischer (Zel’s dad Bob was also in attendance).

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Zel Fischer addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday morning, January 24, 2018, in Jefferson City.
During Chief Justice Fischer’s speech, he spoke about six main topics: the core functions of the Judicial Branch, a well administered Judiciary, Justice reinvestment task force, Treatment Courts and Opioid Crisis, Criminal Justice Task force, and Efficient Management of Court Resources.
Chief Justice Fischer was happy to report that Missouri’s Judiciary is in good shape, and that Missouri was being recognized for its leadership in two areas. The first is for adopting a uniform bar examination and the second is for its use of technology in the court system. The state of Missouri ranked third internationally for its use of technology.
In closing, Chief Justice Fischer remarked that he looked forward to assisting in this big job of governing our state, where each branch focuses on its distinct core functions first, but cooperates and works together when challenges and opportunities arise.