Michael J. Gunter is a life long Kansas City resident, born to Mike and Rosie Gunter in 1965.  He is the eldest of five siblings, David, Patrice, Richard and Vincent.  He attended St. Regis Grade School and granduated from Archbishop O'Hara High School in 1983.  While attending college at Rockurst College, he worked the Assembly Line at General Motors at Fairfax, watied tables and tended bar at Dos Hombres and J.J.'s on the Plaza.

Michael graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law in 1991.  He was a staff writer for the Urban Lawyer.  He was employed at the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office as a law intern in which he was permitted to prosecute felony jury trials.

Upon graduation, Michael began a criminal defense practice dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights for all.  His very first trial as a defense attorney was for a man charged with rape and two counts of sodomy.  The pretrial offer by the State was for 25 years incarceration.  The trial court dismissed one charge of sodomy right before the trial began.  Michael successfully argued for dismissal of the second count of sodomy upon all the evidence submitted by the State.  The jury convicted the defenant of rape and the man was sentenced to 15 years by the Court, a sentence significantly lower than what was offered by the State prior to trial.

Michael has tried death penalty cases in Missouri, successfully saving the life of a man in which the Clay County, Missouri Prosecuting Atorney's Office was seeking the death penalty.  The case was one of the few cases in which the State sought death in Clay County, but, yet the Jury did not dispense with that ultimate punishment.   Instead, they gave the man life in prison.  Michael has gone on to successfully win cases before the Missouri Court of Appeals, the Missouri Supreme Court, and The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. 

Michael has written law articles for local magazines, offered commentary for local television stations for national and local cases of interest, and has taught continuing legal education for attorneys.  He is the father to Michael Jon Gunter,  currently a devoted Star Wars fan and elementary student.  Besides the law, Michael enjoys photography, coaching youth basketball, traveling, and golf.

Our Business

If you are in need of high quality legal representation, in Kansas or Missouri, please call Michael at (816) 866-LAW4.