Open Letter from Our Honorary Co-Chairs

Originally posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

RE: Oppose the proposed changes to the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan

More than 70 years ago, The Missouri Plan was conceived to ensure that no one political party or person could hand-pick our judges. Under the Plan, political and special interest influence is kept at bay through a commission-based selection process, at the core of which is a balanced commission made up of three lawyers each elected from the appellate judicial districts; three citizen-commissioners who are selected on 6-year staggered terms by the governor, so that only in limited circumstances will any one governor select all three appointees; and one judge of the Supreme Court. This commission reviews all applicants and recommends a panel of three choices to the governor. As designed, the Plan has produced a steady stream of distinguished, competent and impartial jurists with diverse backgrounds representative of all four corners of our state. Unfortunately, the Plan is under attack by those few who seek control of our courts.

As former judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri and former chairs of the appellate judicial selection commission, we have first-hand knowledge of the appellate judicial selection process, including an acute awareness of the potential dangers that increased political control or special interest influence could cause within our judicial system. We are gravely concerned about the potential changes to the composition of the commission that would result if voters approve the proposed constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot this November.

If approved, the carefully balanced commission would be destroyed by the removal of the supreme court judge and by giving a governor, within a single term in office, the ability to appoint a majority of the seven-member commission. Some have labeled the proposed changes a mere tweak of the Plan; however, the changes give all future governors control of appellate judicial appointments and open the door to control by one party or one person.

Our Plan – The Missouri Plan – is a model for the nation, with more than 30 states having adopted it in some form. More important, it works for Missouri. Our judiciary is a level playing field where all citizens, no matter their income or ideology, receive a fair day in court. 

We acknowledge that the plan is not perfect.  But it has been perfect in one way – it has allowed Missouri to avoid the corruption and incompetency that has sometimes plagued the judiciary in states that use a more partisan political process to choose judges.  The proposed constitutional amendment is a step towards partisan politics and with that step, it risks partisan politics becoming the dominant criterion for judicial selection in Missouri.  We have seen what loyalty to a political agenda rather than a neutral assessment of the law can produce.  We have avoided that in Missouri – and should resist every attempt to change that.
Please join us in protecting our Missouri Plan and safeguarding equal access to justice for all Missourians.

Retired Supreme Court Judges:

Hon. Ann K. Covington
Hon. John C. Holstein
Hon. Edward D. Robertson, Jr.
Hon. Wm. Ray Price, Jr.
Hon. Ronnie L. White
Hon. Michael A. Wolff

Amendment 3 Opponents To Gather in Columbia at Tiger Hotel, Birthplace of the Missouri Plan, for Watch Party

Originally posted on Monday, November 5th, 2012

On election night, Tuesday, Nov. 6, the opponents of efforts to overturn the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan will gather in Columbia at the birthplace of the Missouri Plan, the Tiger Hotel.

The leading opponents of Amendment 3, the Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee, are hosting the watch party, which will start at 8:30.

On December 11, 1937 more than 80 civic leaders from across Missouri and from across the political spectrum met at the Tiger Hotel to confront a threat that was crippling our great state. Fed up with corrupt judges and politically-motivated courts ruled with an iron fist by political bosses like Tom Pendergast, this group went about devising a system for selecting judges aimed at taking politics and partisanship out of our courts.

That group wrote and filed an initiative petition that created the Nonpartisan Court Plan. In Nov. 1940 Missouri voters approved this ballot measure, making Missouri the first state in the country to adopt a merit-based judicial selection system.

Amendment 3 seeks to overturn the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan by giving politicians more power to pick our judges.

MFICC, the leading opponent of Amendment 3, has brought together a diverse coalition of retired judges, business leaders and community leaders to educate voters on why putting politicians and special interests in charge of Missouri’s judicial selection process is dangerous.

The Honorary Co-Chairs of MFICC are former Missouri Supreme Court judges William Ray Price, Jr., Ronnie L. White, John C. Holstein, Ann K. Covington, Michael A. Wolff and Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr. To learn more about MFICC, please visit www.mofaircourts.com

Reporters unable to make it the Victory Party but wanting comment on election night, should contact Skip Walther, the MFICC Treasurer and former Missouri Bar President, at (573) 268-3579.

No on Amendment 3 Watch Party
Tiger Hotel, Black and Gold Room
23 S. 8th Street
Columbia, MO

TV Ad Opposing Amendment 3 Begins Airing Today as Newspapers Urge a “No” Vote

Originally posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

The Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee (MFICC) today launched a television ad asking Missourians to keep politics out of Missouri courtrooms by voting no on Amendment 3. The ad, which can be viewed online at www.mofaircourts.com, will air on broadcast and cable television stations across much of the state for the next two weeks.

The ad highlights how Amendment 3 would dramatically increase the power of partisan politicians to appoint judges and inject politics into Missouri’s model nonpartisan judicial selection process. It points out that special interests put this constitutional amendment on the ballot because they are tired of nonpartisan courts that they can’t control.

“It’s no wonder our campaign gains support each day, while those special interests and politicians seeking to overturn our nonpartisan courts continue to recede into the political shadows,” said Skip Walther, MFICC Treasurer and former Missouri Bar President. “The last place Missourians want to give politicians more power is in picking our judges. Missouri’s nonpartisan court plan has been a model for the nation because it ensures that judges are beholden to the constitution and not politicians or special interests. We will continue to provide Missourians with the facts they need to keep politics out of our courtrooms by voting against Amendment 3.”

Also joining MFICC in asking Missourians to vote against Amendment 3 are editorial boards from across the state, including papers that don’t often share similar political views, including:

• The Joplin Globe editorialized, “We don’t want judges who are bought and paid for in Missouri. And we don’t want Constitutional Amendment 3 to go into effect.”
• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “One of the reasons the Missouri Plan works so well in elevating merit over partisanship in choosing judges is that no individual governor, Republican or Democrat, can have significant power… Amendment 3 would change that, giving one governor the power to appoint hiscronies and all but guarantee full control over the choosing of judges.”
• The Southeast Missourian warned, “… this solution could open up a new can of political worms.”
• The Kansas City Star said, “Voters should show their support for integrity on the bench by rejecting Amendment 3. Andthey should let it be known that Missouri’s courts are not for sale.”
• The Columbia Daily Tribune wrote, “The Missouri Plan is designed to inject a fair degree of independent input into judicial selection while still giving the governor a fair degree of final control. It need not be changed.Vote “no” on Amendment 3.”

MFICC is a group of retired judges, business leaders and community leaders that are educating voters this fall on why putting politicians in charge of Missouri’s judicial selection process is dangerous because it brings partisan politics into the one branch of government where it has been held at bay.

The Honorary Co-Chairs of Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee are formerMissouri Supreme Court judges William Ray Price, Jr., Ronnie L. White, John C. Holstein, Ann K. Covington, Michael A. Wolff and Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr. To learn more about MFICC and to view the new ad, please visit www.mofaircourts.com

KC Star and Columbia Daily Tribune Urge Voters to Reject Amendment 3

Originally posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012

This week the KC Star and Columbia Daily Tribune editorial boards officially announced their endorsement against Amendment 3, which would inundate Missouri courtrooms with politics. The two papers join Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee (MFICC) in the fight to preserve Missouri’s current Nonpartisan Court Plan.

The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, which was approved by voters more than 70 years ago, selects judges based on merit and has become a national model for keeping politics out of the judicial selection process.

“The Missouri Plan is designed to inject a fair degree of independent input into judicial selection while still giving the governor a fair degree of final control,” wrote the Columbia Daily Tribune. “It need not be changed. Vote “no” on Amendment 3.”

Amendment 3, which will appear on the November ballot in Missouri, removes the nonpartisan and nonpolitical elements of the current plan by giving Missouri governors the power to handpick a majority of the commission that selects appellate nominees.

The two papers are urging voters to consider the ramifications of allowing politicians to influence Missouri courts.

“Voters should show their support for integrity on the bench by rejecting Amendment 3,” wrote the KC Star. “And they should let it be known that Missouri’s courts are not for sale.”

MFICC is a group of retired judges, business leaders and community leaders that are educating voters this fall on why putting politicians in charge of Missouri’s judicial selection process is dangerous because it brings partisan politics into the one branch of government where it has been held at bay. To learn more about MFICC, please visit www.mofaircourts.com.

“Our selection system focuses on talent and intelligence and judicial temperament, not ideology, and no one has the ability to buy their way into the room where judicial candidates are screened,” said Skip Walther, MFICC Treasurer and former President of the Missouri Bar. “If we abandon our current merit-based selection system and replace it with one where the governor has the power to handpick our judges, just think how much money will roll in from those partisans with a specific candidate and agenda in mind.”

The Honorary Co-Chairs of Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee are former Missouri Supreme Court judges William Ray Price, Jr., Ronnie L. White, John C. Holstein,Ann K. Covington, Michael A. Wolff and Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr.

MFICC Releases Statement on Amendment 3 Losing Support

Originally posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

The Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee today released a statement following an announcement that Amendment 3 was losing some of its support.

“For more than 70 years Missouri has served as a national model for selecting judges based on merit and not on politics. Missourians simply do not support overturning our nonpartisan system for picking judges with one that allow politics into our courtrooms,” said Skip Walther, Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee Treasurer. “We will continue to educate Missouri voters on why it’s dangerous to allow politicians to control what is now a nonpartisan process. We urge all Missourians to protect the nonpartisan nature of our courts by showing up to the polls on November 6, and voting no on Amendment 3.”

Missouri School Boards’ Association Joins Campaign to Prevent Politics in Missouri Courts

Originally posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012

Jefferson City, Mo. — The Missouri School Boards’ Association (MSBA) today formally joined the campaign to defeat Amendment 3, which would allow politicians and their political agendas to control the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan. MSBA decided to join Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee (MFICC) to inform voters this fall about the potential harm Amendment 3 would cause to public education by bringing partisan politics into Missouri courts.

“School boards throughout the state have a strong interest in preserving an unbiased court system,” said Dr. Carter Ward, Executive Director of the Missouri School Boards’ Association. “Amendment 3 would introduce a troublesome degree of politics into a system that is working well. MSBA believes this amendment has the potential to make judges beholden to politicians and political agendas.”
The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, which was approved by voters more than 70 years ago, selects judges based on merit and has become a national model for keeping politics out of the judicial selection process. Amendment 3, which will appear on the November ballot in Missouri, removes the nonpartisan and nonpolitical elements of the current plan by giving Missouri governors the power to handpick a majority of the commission that selects appellate nominees.

“It is dangerous to give politicians control of selecting our judges because some of the most important institutions in our state, like our public schools, need to know that our constitution, not political agendas, will guide our system of justice,” said Skip Walther, MFICC Treasurer and former President of the Missouri Bar. “We welcome the Missouri School Boards’ Association to our coalition and look forward to spreading the message far and wide this fall that Missourians should defeat Amendment 3 and keep politics out of our courts and out of our classrooms.”

The Honorary Co-Chairs of Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee are former Missouri Supreme Court judges William Ray Price, Jr., Ronnie L. White, John C. Holstein, Ann K. Covington, Michael A. Wolff and Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr.

MFICC Applauds Ruling Upholding Ballot Language

Originally posted 348 days ago on Monday, September 10th, 2012

Jefferson City, Mo. — The group opposing drastic changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts (MFICC), today applauded a ruling in Cole County Circuit Court that dismissed a lawsuit brought by proponents of Amendment 3 challenging the Secretary of State’s ballot language on the issue. MFICC Treasurer Skip Walther released the following statement:

“We applaud the court’s ruling and believe the ballot language is fair because it recognizes that for the first time politicians will control this previously nonpartisan process. Amendment 3 is dangerous because it puts more politics in our courtrooms and judicial selection process at a time when politics is crippling other branches of government. The last thing we need is for politicians to be in charge of this process. Amendment 3 would make our judges beholden to politicians and political agendas, instead of being selected based on merit and thus strictly loyal to our constitution and to the rule of law.”

The Honorary Co-Chairs of Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee are former Missouri Supreme Court judges William Ray Price, Jr., Ronnie L. White, John C. Holstein, Ann K. Covington, Michael A. Wolff and Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr.

MFICC Announces Opposition to Amendment 3, Which Would Allow Politicians to Control the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

Originally posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Former Supreme Court Judges Price, White, Holstein, Covington, Wolff and Robertson Warn Missourians against Allowing Politics into Missouri Courts

Springfield, Mo. — A group of retired judges, business leaders and community leaders today announced their opposition to a constitutional amendment that would allow politicians and their political agendas to control the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan. The group, Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee (MFICC), will educate voters this fall on why putting politicians in charge of Missouri’s judicial selection process is dangerous because it brings partisan politics into the one branch of government where it has been held at bay.

The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan was approved by voters more than 70 years ago and has served as a national model for selecting judges. This system, often referred to as The Missouri Plan, is now used by more than half of the states in the nation after Missouri pioneered this innovative way of selecting judges based on merit and not politics or partisanship.

Amendment 3, which will appear on the November ballot, removes the nonpartisan and nonpolitical elements of the current plan by giving Missouri governors the power to handpick a majority of the commission that selects appellate nominees. It also, for the first time, lets the governor appoint all lawyers to the commission by removing the current requisite that the governor’s appointees be nonlawyers.

“Seventy years ago voters decided that it was time to keep politics out of our courtrooms and allow the rule of law, not political agendas, to guide the administration of  justice in Missouri,” said recently retired Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ray Price, who was appointed by Republican Gov. John Ashcroft. “At a time when there is simply too much politics in government, Missouri’s voters should reject this attempt to discard our nonpartisan system for selecting judges.” 

MFICC members also noted that Amendment 3 would make judges beholden to partisan politicians as opposed to the current Nonpartisan Court Plan, which selects judges based on merit, not politics or partisanship. The proposed constitutional changes would also move Missouri to a system that much more closely resembles how judges are selected in Washington, D.C.
“Those of us in the business community want a justice system that is fair, impartial and predictable because it eliminates, as much as possible, politics in the selection of our judges. If Amendment 3 passes, all future governors will have virtual control over the appointment of appellate judges in Missouri. I hope business leaders will join with me in opposing Amendment 3,” said Jack Stack, President and CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation.

The Honorary Co-Chairs of Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee are:

• Former Supreme Court Judge William Ray Price, Jr., appointed by Republican Governor John Ashcroft.
• Former Supreme Court Judge Ronnie L. White, appointed by Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan.
• Former Supreme Court Judge John C. Holstein, appointed by Republican Governor John Ashcroft.
• Former Supreme Court Judge Ann K. Covington, appointed by Republican Governor John Ashcroft.
• Former Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff, appointed by Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan.
• Former Supreme Court Judge Edward D. “Chip” Robertson, Jr., appointed by Republican Governor John Ashcroft.