Litigation

Accusations Fly in Challenge to MO Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

Angry accusations are being hurled over a  ballot measure campaign that is seeking to scrap Missouri’s judicial appointment system and replace it with competitive partisan elections.

A judge has granted a temporary restraining order against  the Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Action Fund, a group defending the state’s merit selection system. That group, which was accused of harassing signature gatherers, has denied wrongdoing and has made its own allegations about a company hired to gain petition signatures.

ShowMe Better Courts, which is seeking to put direct partisan election of judges on the November ballot, obtained the temporary restraining order, according to a Kansas City Star article.

Also named in the order is a contractor hired by Fair and Impartial Courts that was accused of scaring petition gatherers. An April 26 court hearing is scheduled on a request for a full restraining order, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

“To use violence and intimidation to discourage people from participating in direct democracy is unacceptable,” said James Harris, of ShowMe Better Courts.

Chuck Hatfield, a lawyer for Fair and Impartial Courts said, ?Those committed to preserving a non-partisan system for selecting judges in Missouri have both a right and an obligation to inform the public about this dangerous plan to inject politics and partisanship into Missouri?s judicial selection process.” He added, “The allegations made against our organization are false.”

Fair and Impartial Courts has posted on its Web site, meanwhile, allegations critical of Lincoln Strategy Group, which it says was hired by ShowMe Better Courts. Lincoln Strategy “has developed quite the reputation for its dubious practices on behalf of right-wing clients,” the Web site states.

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 April 16, 2010 (boomark / email).