The focus of Baker’s practice is the defense of governmental entities and their officials and employees in a wide variety of civil rights and state tort claims. He is a member of the Missouri Bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas and the Western District of Missouri; the Seventh, Eighth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal; and the United States Supreme Court. Baker is a former chairperson of the Defense Research Institute’s Governmental Liability Committee and has spoken often at its annual seminar on a number of topics dealing with police liability and the defense of civil rights actions.

AV® - Preeminent Rated. (AV® - Preeminent™ is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.)

University of Kansas, B.S. (1979)
University of Missouri-Columbia, J.D. (1982)

BAR ADMISSIONS

Missouri (1982)
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1982)
United States District Court for the District of Kansas (1998)
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1986)
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (1993)
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2004)
United States Supreme Court (1998)

• Defense Research Institute
  • Chairperson, Governmental Liability Committee (1997-1999)
  • Vice-Chairperson, Governmental Liability Committee (1995-1997)
• Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
• Kansas City Claims Association

• Defending Against Damage Claims - Section 1983 Substantive Law Developments and Techniques for Limiting Emotional Distress, Psychological Injury and Punitive Damage Claims, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, Feb. 7, 1991
• Governmental Liability for Failure to Protect, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, January 20, 1994
• Civil Rights Immunities Under 42 U.S.C. 1983, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, January 18, 1995
• Failure to Protect Claims Brought Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, Phoenix, Arizona, January 10, 1997
• Section 1983 Claims Against Governmental Entities, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, January 15, 1998
• Actions Under Color of Law, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, January 21, 1999
• Excessive Force and Other Police Misconduct Issues, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Kansas City, Missouri, May 12, 1999
• Automobile Liability Claims Against Governmental Employees and Entities, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Kansas City, Missouri, October 1, 1999
• Law Enforcement Liability, Missouri Police Chiefs Association Annual Meeting, Lake Ozark, Missouri, December 3, 1999
• Failure to Protect Claims, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 13, 2000
• Jury Instructions in Federal Court, Missouri Bar Association Federal Civil Litigation Seminar, Kansas City, Missouri, June 15, 2001
• The Law of Individual Immunities, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, San Diego, California, January 17, 2002
• Pursuing and Defending the § 1983 Case, Defense Research Institute Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar, January 24, 2003
• Strict Liability Theory v. Negligence Reality, FOR THE DEFENSE, November 1998 (co-author)
• Defending Missouri Law Enforcement Liability Claims; Lorman Educational Services; Overland Park, KS; September 27, 2006
• Lessons Learned From Defending High-Speed Pursuit Cases, MARCIT Annual Program; Branson, Missouri; November 3, 2006
• Instructor, Kansas State Highway Patrol Academy, August–September 2007
• Jail Liability Issues, Missouri Sheriff’s Association Annual Meeting, Lake Ozark, Missouri; February 8, 2008
• Jail Liability Issues, Missouri Sheriff’s Association New Sheriff’s Meeting, Jefferson City, Missouri; December 3, 2008
• Defending Conspiracy Claims Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) Defense Research Institute’s Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar; New Orleans, LA; January 30, 2009
• Police Policies and Procedures, Missouri Sheriff’s Association’s Annual Meeting, Branson, Missouri; July 21, 2009