Litigation

Million-Dollar Clash Over Picking MO Judges

By Peter Hardin

The showdown in Missouri over the best way to select judges is a million-dollar fight, already.

Critics seek to scrap the state?s  judicial appointment system and replace it with competitive partisan elections, and they’re working to put the issue on the ballot in November.

James Harris of ShowMe Better Courts, which is spearheading the initiative, said his group submitted 250,000 petition signatures this weekend. It cost the group $1.5 million to gather them, he said, according to a Kansas City Star article.

If enough signatures are found valid, it is likely that  another $2 million to $4 million would be spent on the fall campaign, Harris said.

A group defending Missouri’s merit selection system, Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts, has raised about $268,000, according to public filings.

To learn more about the debate over replacing Missouri?s nationally recognized merit selection system, see Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 04, 2010 (boomark / email).