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