HCS HJR 31 -- APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES

SPONSOR:  Tilley (Lembke)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 4 to 2.

Upon voter approval, this proposed constitutional amendment
repeals the nonpartisan selection of judges in Missouri.
Beginning January 1, 2009, judicial appointments for the Missouri
Supreme Court, courts of appeal, or office of circuit or
associate circuit judge in the counties of Clay, Jackson, Platte,
and St. Louis and the City of St. Louis will be made by the
Governor with the consent of the Senate.

Judges appointed under this plan will be retained by passage of a
concurrent resolution by the General Assembly 10 years after
their terms begin.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the Missouri Nonpartisan Court
Plan is an outdated and ineffective plan for selecting judges.
Missouri adopted its plan for appointing judges in 1940 in
response to abuses in the appointments process by corrupt
political machines.  In the last 67 years since its enactment,
the plan has taken away the legislature's substantive check on
the judiciary branch of government.  Allowing the Governor to
select judges, without the requirement of selecting from a
pre-selected panel of judges, will restore the administrative
branch's only check on the judiciary.  No Supreme Court or
appellate court judge has ever lost a retention election in the
67-year history of the plan which illustrates the ineffectiveness
of the plan in removing poor judges.  The Missouri Bar will still
have considerable input in the selection of judges through
recommendations during the selection process.  The confirmation
of the candidate by the Senate and subsequent retention by
concurrent resolution most closely resembles the federal system
and restores the proper legislative check on the judiciary.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Lembke; Bill Placke;
and Paula Ginella.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the Missouri
Nonpartisan Court Plan is a bipartisan model that has a
moderating effect on our state courts.  The process for judge
selection is a rigorous one.  The commission charged with the
selection of judges is representative of Missouri and thoroughly
checks the judicial candidates.  The fact that no Supreme Court
or appellate court judge has ever lost a retention election
should be viewed as evidence that the plan works to appoint
solid, well-qualified, and moderate judges.  Some of the worst
decisions affecting Missouri have come from the federal courts.
The federal model, with lifetime appointments, harbors activist
judges, both conservative and liberal, that rule in favor of
their own political ideologies in lieu of sound legal
philosophies.  Changing Missouri's judicial selection plan to
mirror the federal system is short-sighted, unwise, and takes
away a system that is the envy of many state judiciaries.

Testifying against the bill were Steve Garner; Larry Dessem; John
Holstein; Albert Reeder; Shook, Hardy & Bacon; and Missouri Bar.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am