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Saturday, September 15, 2007
Courts - Missouri chief justice defends "Missouri plan" for judicial selections
Virginia Young of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this week:
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith defended the state's nonpartisan court plan on Tuesday, calling it "a brilliant compromise" that minimizes politics in the judicial selection process.Testifying before the Senate Rules Committee, Stith said the plan was drafted nearly three-quarters of a century ago because Missourians "decided that they were sick of politicians picking their judges."
Stith said the plan's drafters came primarily from the Republican Party and included Rush Limbaugh Sr., the grandfather of Missouri Supreme Court Judge Steve Limbaugh and political commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Under the plan, Stith heads the seven-member Appellate Judicial Commission, which screens candidates for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Three of the commissioners are lawyers elected by the Missouri Bar. Three are non-lawyers appointed by the governor.
The commission meets in private to interview applicants and narrow the field to three people. The governor must choose from among those finalists. Voters decide the following year whether to retain the judge for a full term.
The process came under fire this summer when the commission picked finalists for a Supreme Court vacancy. On Friday, Gov. Matt Blunt appointed Patricia Breckenridge to fill that vacancy.
Conservatives said Blunt had little ability to influence the process and appoint a judge who matched his philosophy. Blunt has appointed only one of the screening panel members, who serve staggered, six-year terms.
Although critics of the plan had hoped for a showdown with Stith on Tuesday, the tone of the hearing was friendly.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 15, 2007 12:28 PM
Posted to Courts in general