Court Plan Reforms Are Good For Missouri
Missouri's system for selecting appellate judges was the subject of a proposed constitutional change in 2012. The existing Missouri Plan gave lawyers a substantial role in choosing members of the nominating commission that sends a short list of judicial candidates to the governor. Amendment 3 would have changed the commission's composition and increased the role of gubernatorially appointed citizen members.
Critics warned that the proposal would inject politics into judicial selection. But politics and organized interests were already part of the process; much of that influence simply occurred within a less visible commission structure. Increasing the role of citizens and elected officials could make the system more accountable rather than uniquely politicizing it.
Judicial independence matters, but so does democratic accountability. Reforming the selection mechanism could better balance those interests without converting Missouri judges into ordinary partisan candidates.
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