Litigation

Editorial: ?Political Stooges? to Wield the Gavel?

By Peter Hardin

To decry an effort to change the way Missouri selects its judges, an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch uses exceptionally tough talk.

If the Missouri Plan for merit selection of judges is replaced with partisan elections, the editorial warns of potential corruption:

“Judges no longer would be independent arbiters, but would become political stooges forced to pass the hat, wait their turn and do as they are told.”

Critics seek to repeal the stateâ??s  judicial appointment system and replace it with competitive partisan elections, and theyâ??re working to put the issue on the ballot in November. (To learn more, see Gavel Grab.) They recently submitted petitions allegedly carrying more than 200,000 signatures to the office of the secretary of state.

The editorial is a call to the ramparts. It urges lawyers to take the lead in defending impartial courts and urges the governor to campaign “personally and passionately” against the repeal. The stakes are high, the editorial concludes:

“This is a nasty, bare-knuckled attempt by a small group of wealthy ideologues and political operatives to gain control of our courts. They must be given no quarter. The fight must be brought to them. The future of justice in Missouri depends on it.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 11, 2010 (boomark / email).