UPDATE: Anti-Missouri Plan group plans ballot initiative for judge selection
UPDATE: The oft-maligned Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys has responded to the proposed ballot initiative on the Missouri Plan with a sharply worded news release of its own:
“Better Courts for Missouri should change its name to Justice for the Highest Bidders,” said MATA President Alan Mandel regarding the group that is running the petition drive. “Their attempt to hoodwink Missouri voters into believing they want change for any other reason than to escape accountability to Missouri consumers is a gross misrepresentation of the truth.”
And this from MATA executive director Sara Schuett: “Demands of transparency and accountability are laughable coming from a group whose director won’t even reveal the source of the money being used in this attempt to cripple the justice system.”
JEFFERSON CITY — Stymied by an unwilling Missouri Senate, opponents of the current method of choosing many judges in the state will head to the ballot and ask voters for help.
This morning on a conference call, James Harris, director of the Better Courts for Missouri group, announced that his group would be filing an initiative petition to get rid of the Missouri Plan and replace it with the federal model for choosing judges.
“It has worked well for the United States for more than 200 years and we think it will work well for Missouri,” said Harris.
Under the federal model, the president nominates judges to federal courts, and the Senate confirms them. The same model would be applied to Missouri courts, but with the governor making the nomination, if Harris is successful in getting the petition on the ballot and voters approve it.
Under the Missouri Plan, which has been adopted or modified by many states, appellate judicial commissions made up of gubernatorial appointees and lawyers nominate a slate of judges to the governor, and the governor chooses from among them.
Harris, Sen. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, and other Republicans, have been critical of that process because of the secrecy of the judicial commissions and the influence of the Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers, which has been successful in getting many of its members elected to the commission.
Harris said the process produces “liberal” judges, but he wasn’t critical of any specific judicial appointments or decisions in Missouri, a point supporters of the Missouri Plan have made in defending the current process.
During the legislative session, in which Lembke pushed a bill that would make a variety of changes to the Missouri Plan, he suggested that if lawmakers didn’t adopt the changes he proposed, then Harris’ group would seek to get rid of the Missouri Plan entirely.
Asked if this was simply part of the political pressure being put on the Senate to make changes, Harris said his group was “serious” about the petition process. He would not, however, tell reporters who was backing the process financially.
“…Harris said the process produces “liberal” judges, but he wasn’t critical of any specific judicial appointments or decisions in Missouri…”
this whole ‘better courts for Missouri group’…
reeks of political high jinks…
ed ‘lie like a repuplikan’ martin has to be involved somewhere.
I think it is time to end this plan that allows only lawyers to pick judges. Using this logic, we should let the teachers select the school boards. Judges should be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
Wow… how awful!
Citizens legally using their state constitution to bring to their follow voters/citizens a solution to what they see as a problem.
Terrible!
Why should anyone trust an organization of trial attorneys? Judges, the way things are currently can too often be purchased by most of these very attorneys desperate to keep things the way they are.
These attorneys can get whatever end result they want for their clients with deep enough pockets by operating in the dark away from the public’s attention. The election of judges will bring much of the corruption within the courts into the public eyes.
Much of this type want and we don’t hear about theses wrongs because we don’t get to vote for our judges where such have a likely chance of coming into the light during election time.
I am all for electing judges. At least the public will be made aware of much wrong doing by judges where we don’t hear anything about it as it stands currently. I am all for the election of judges so that much of their behavior, injustices and corruption and nepotism can be aired in public.
I am amazed that under a Democratic Governor these right wing nuts want to give Nixon the ability to name whom he wants over his last 2 years and then have the Senate reject them. Then they are critisized by all. I guess they don’t remember the times the Senate has held up Presidential nominations.
They only want control now because they control both Houses in MO, especially the Senate and hope to do so for at least 12 years with re-districting in 2011. If the Democrats were in charge this would have never come up. The Missouri Plan keeps all political changes and pressures out of the process. Keep it and keep honest judges who basically are not part of that political choice method of chosing them!
If you’re going to “elect” judges, why even have courts at all?
For that matter, why even have government? Let’s just abolish all government and let corporations and wealthy individuals make all the important decisions. That eliminates the need to buy off judges or legislators.
“[T]his plan that allows only lawyers to pick judges.”
Dead wrong. Laypersons also do the picking. And who better than lawyers know who’s fit to be judge?
“Why should anyone trust an organization of trial attorneys?”
You gotta be kidding. Ever sued an insurance company? Defense lawyers do just fine.
“I am all for the election of judges so that much of their behavior, injustices and corruption and nepotism can be aired in public.”
Like what?
“I am amazed that under a Democratic Governor these right wing nuts want to give Nixon the ability to name whom he wants[.]”
You and me both, bud.
How come none of the Pro-Partisan Court Plan constitution-killers are citing specific examples of the current system’s failures? Hmmm? Even one bad appointment under the current system? No? It’s all gibberish: “bad judges! liberal judges! activist judges!” Okay, where are they?
D. Walker, if you want to vote for judges, move to Jefferson County or over 100 other counties in the state that still elect their judges, but don’t move to Greene County which recently voted to adopt the Missouri Plan. In the alternative, D. Walker, consider actually voting when appointed judges under the Missouri Plan are up for a retention vote. What amazes me is that 95% of the time people gripe about “activist judges” or judges legislating from the bench, the decisions which set them off are federal court decisions, the very system they want to adopt. And most of the people complaining about the Missouri Plan (such as jjk) don’t even know how it works.
SPSLE, well said. No one in these entries has named a single Missouri judge whom they can call an “activist.” The only reason we are crippled with legislative term limits is because voters thought they’d be getting rid of Ted Kennedy. God save us from another error like that!