Any case coming to this Court from a district of the Court of Appeals, whether by certification, transfer or certiorari, may be finally determined the same as on original appeal. If, however, in cases transferred on order of this Court, the Court concludes that the transfer was improvidently granted, the case may be retransferred to the Court of Appeals.
Rule 83.09.Determination of Cases Following Transfer.
Part II · Rule 83: Transfers from Court of Appeals to This Court · Last amended January 1, 1972 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceRule 83.09 lets the Supreme Court finally decide any case that reaches it from the court of appeals just as it would an original appeal, while also allowing it to send a case back to the court of appeals if it decides the transfer was granted improvidently.
Full Text of Rule 83.09
Amendment History
Renumbered June 1, 1971, eff. Jan. 1, 1972.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 83.09 speaks to what the Supreme Court can do once a case arrives from the court of appeals, no matter which route it took to get there — certification, transfer, or certiorari. Once the case is in the Supreme Court, that court can finally determine it the same way it would decide a case that had come to it as an original appeal, instead of being limited to some narrower form of review because of how the case arrived.
The rule also gives the Supreme Court a way to undo a transfer it granted itself. If, after taking the case, the Court concludes the transfer was improvidently granted, it can retransfer the case back to the court of appeals instead of deciding it. That safety valve matters because transfer decisions are often made before full briefing, and a case that looked like it raised a question worth the Supreme Court's attention can turn out, once fully briefed and argued, not to need Supreme Court resolution after all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Supreme Court decide a case that reaches it from the court of appeals?
The same way it would decide a case that came to it as an original appeal — the rule does not limit the scope of review based on the route the case took.
Does it matter whether the case arrived by certification, transfer, or certiorari?
No. The rule treats cases arriving by any of those three routes the same way for purposes of final determination.
Can the Supreme Court send a case back to the court of appeals?
Yes. If the Court concludes that a transfer it granted was improvidently granted, it can retransfer the case to the court of appeals instead of deciding it.
Who decides whether a transfer was improvidently granted?
The Supreme Court itself, after the case has come to it on transfer.
Does this rule apply only to transferred cases?
The retransfer option applies specifically to cases transferred on order of the Supreme Court; the final-determination provision covers cases arriving by certification, transfer, or certiorari.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Missouri State & Federal Court Rules, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Missouri. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: improvidently granted transferretransfer to court of appealsfinal determination after transferMissouri Rule 83.09certification transfer certiorari