SPEAK UP FOR MISSOURI COURTS
You have a right to impartial justice.
You can help protect the independence of our courts.
You can take 9 action steps to help safeguard your freedoms.
FREEDOM
The most powerful force in nature isn't a volcano or a hurricane. Nothing compares to the unbounded energy of more than 260 million individuals, free to pursue their lives and passions. In America, our freedom is our greatest strength.
Not only are we free to live as we choose, but we are free from unwarranted intrusion of the government in our lives. The Bill of Rights to our Constitution ensures that we are free to express our thoughts, our feelings and our opinions without fear of reprisal from the government.
We are part of an experiment in self-government, which startled the world with the simple proposition that all men – and women – are created equal. Our nation's founders created a government that cannot stray from that ideal. A system of checks and balances prevents any one branch of government from limiting the rights guaranteed us in the Constitution.
More than 200 years after our nation's founding, the promise of the Constitution is still as valid as the day it was written. In the United States, our rights are not dependent on our station in life. Rich or poor, privileged or not, we are all assured that each of us will be treated equally under the law. Our courts have the critical role of protecting our rights by interpreting and applying laws fairly and impartially.
Our courts can fulfill that promise only if judges can make their decisions free from the influences of power, politics and money. It is a judge's independence from these forces that ensures that we are ruled by a system of laws and not of men or women.
Free to live as we choose.
JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IS
. . .the freedom that a judge should have to decide a case without pressure from public opinion, interest groups, the legislature or the executive branch.
Judges do not represent, and cannot represent, any interest groups. They may have been active in party politics, but once they are the bench, it doesn't matter whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. They must follow the law.
The Cornerstone of Democracy
An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a democracy. It is critical for the effective administration of justice that we have a free and independent judiciary.
Because our government was established with a system of checks and balances, there has always been some natural tension between all three branches of government, from time to time.
Legitimate criticism of a court's decision is appropriate; unfair attacks are not.
Many, many Missourians are impacted by the courts. The Missouri Bar estimates that between 33-50 percent of all Missourians are impacted by the courts. Thus, the judiciary – the third branch of government – has a significant impact on many Missourians. It is critical that it remain independent and free from unfair attacks.
Our society and government depend upon judges doing what they are supposed to do: Judges must weigh the merits of each case that comes before them, based on the facts and the applicable laws.
Judges do not seek out controversial cases. The court has no choice but to decide on cases brought to it by litigants.
Our judicial system provides for change in the law through legislative action or by constitutional revision.
JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Independence is always tempered by accountability. Judicial independence is embedded in a system of accountability.
Judges are not free to ignore the body of law that applies to the case before them. Virtually all legal cases are argued based on the cases and interpretations of law that preceded them. Judges who deviate from acceptable precedent find their interpretations appealed, sometimes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Because laws and society are constantly changing, appellate judges, on rare occasion, reverse the precedent their court previously set or arrive at a new interpretation of a legal issue. If the legislative branch of government does not agree with the new precedent, it can override the power of the courts by creating a new law or even amending the Constitution.
Errors in the way trials are conducted are also corrected through the appeals process.
In Missouri, the state constitution established a Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges. This commission, which includes lay people as members, investigates complaints against judges.
All judges stand before voters periodically for election or retention.
The courts belong to the people of Missouri and are public institutions. The media regularly cover trials and scrutinize the behavior of judges.
The organized bar evaluates all non-partisan judges who will be standing in retention elections. Those evaluations are provided to the public.
Independence is always tempered by accountability.
The Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan
Reducing the Role of Politics, Strengthening Judicial Independence
Missouri has two systems for electing judges: a partisan system and a Non-Partisan Court Plan. In most courthouses throughout Missouri, judges are elected as either Democrats or Republicans. But in the City of St. Louis, and in St. Louis, Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties, judges apply for their positions on the bench and are selected on the basis of merit. These non-partisan judges run in retention elections at the end of their term. All of Missouri's appellate judges are also selected under this system.
Missouri's Non-Partisan Court Plan has become a model for the nation. It continues to reduce the role of politics in the selection and election of judges. It also helps ensure the independence and integrity of the judiciary by shielding candidates from undue pressure.
Judges who serve under this plan have been nominated by a judicial commission and then selected by the governor. After their first 12 months in office, non-partisan appointed judges must go before the voters in a retention election. Voters are asked whether each of these judges should be retained. To be retained, each judge must receive a majority vote. A similar retention election occurs at the end of each term of office, under the same guidelines and provisions. If a judge does not receive a majority of votes, his or her judicial office will become vacant at the end of its present term. The judicial commission will then nominate three candidates for the position and the governor will appoint one to fill the vacancy. The terms for appellate court judges are 12 years. Among trial judges, circuit judges serve six-year terms, while associate circuit judges have four-year terms.
Two different types of commissions select nominees - appellate commissions and circuit commissions. In both commissions, the members' terms are staggered. The appellate commission, which selects nominees to fill Supreme Court of Missouri or Court of Appeals openings, consists of a judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, three lawyers and three lay members. The circuit commissions, which select nominees for trial-level openings, include the chief judge of the court of appeals district in which the vacancy occurs, two lawyers and two lay members. In both types of commissions, the lawyers are elected by bar members from their circuit or court of appeals district, and the lay members are appointed by the governor.
The Non-Partisan Court Plan
Missouri's Gift to the Art of Governing
The Non-Partisan Court Plan works. It provides a proven method of selecting judicial applicants based on merit and ability. Before judicial retention elections are held, Missouri lawyers anonymously rate all non-partisan judges who will be standing for retention. The evaluations––which are widely distributed to the public––consistently indicate that judges who pass the rigorous screening process of the judicial selection committee make excellent judges.
Since being introduced in Missouri in 1940, the Non-Partisan Court Plan has become a model for the nation. More than 30 other states have adopted all or parts of the plan - now known nationwide as "the Missouri Plan" - to improve their court systems.
the Non-Partisan Court Plan works.
The Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan engenders public confidence in the courts.
Highly qualified applicants are more willing to apply for openings on the bench under merit selection because they want a career based on their understanding of law, not based on politics.
Lawyers who are selected by judicial commissions have the necessary qualifications to serve as judges. Professional qualifications are emphasized and political credentials are de-emphasized.
Judges chosen under the Non-Partisan Court Plan don't find themselves presiding over cases brought by attorneys who gave them campaign contributions.
Increasingly, states that elect their appellate level judges are seeing judges rely on negative advertising and multi-million dollar judicial campaigns. Not only does this convey a negative image of the judiciary, but it also gives the impression that a seat on a state's high court is for sale. The ads used in the Illinois Supreme Court race are a prime example of the extremely negative portrayal of a state court system that relies on partisan election of appellate judges.
Differences of opinion about individual decisions will always exist. The business community benefits where the rule of law is predictable. In addition to providing for stability, continuity and promotion of public confidence in the judiciary, the Missouri Plan fosters a consistent, fair justice system sought by the business community.
Non-partisan judges are accountable to the public through retention elections.
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Step 1
Realize your power. You are a citizen with a voice. You not only have the right to express your opinion, you have a responsibility. Responsible citizens recognize the effects of their actions on others.
Step 2
Be civil. To be heard, you must also listen.
Step 3
Educate yourself. It's probably been a long time since you've had a civics course. If you aren't sure how the different branches of government work, you need to find out.
Step 4
Test your opinions by discussing them with others. Ideas change and are clarified when they are exposed to others' points of view. The heart of democracy is the thoughtful discussion of issues that concern us.
Step 5
Stay informed. View and read news critically. Missouri has outstanding media that cover all facets of state government.
Step 6
Use the Internet. Everything you always wanted to know about Missouri's court system can be found at www.courts.mo.gov, the Missouri Judiciary Homepage. Links will lead you to written decisions made by Missouri's appellate courts.
Step 7
Do something positive. Invite a lawyer or a judge to speak to your civic or social group.
Step 8
Know who your state legislators are. You can find them at www.senate.mo.gov/05info/leginfo.htm.
Step 9
Contact your state legislator. Call, write or email. Our government works best when our representatives have a clear idea of what their constituents want. Let your legislators know that you value the independence of Missouri's judges and the Non-Partisan Court Plan and are against any measures to politicize the judiciary.
This booklet is published by The Missouri Bar, the statewide organization to which all 28,000 lawyers must belong. The Missouri Bar is committed to ensuring that judges remain independent from outside pressures yet accountable to informed voters.