Litigation

Alterations to ?Missouri Plan? Slammed

By Raheem Dawodu

As Gavel Grab discussed earlier this month, the Missouri legislature is debating a constitutional amendment that would alter the nonpartisan Missouri Plan by giving lawmakers more power in selecting state judges.

According to the University of Missouri’s Maneater,  incoming Missouri Bar President Harold “Skip” Walther told a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters:

This bill was designed to do one thing and that is to increase the role of politics in the way we choose our judges,” Walther said.

Walther said the resolution was hurriedly and sloppily drafted, probably in response to the ideological controversy surrounding the appointment of Missouri Supreme Court Justice Patricia Breckenridge in 2007.

“What we are most concerned about is the injection of politics into the system,” Walther said. “From my standpoint, this issue involves the significant question of whether we want to have a separation of powers in this state.”

The Kansas City Star has written an editorial criticizing those who want to change the system:

It?s becoming a rite of spring in Missouri. Another legislative session, yet another harebrained attempt to wreak havoc with the state?s judiciary.

This year?s scheme for altering the way judges are selected is among the worst yet. It sets the stage for prolonged political feuding and threatens to weaken the independence and quality of Missouri?s bench. (more…)

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 29, 2009 (boomark / email).

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