Trenton attorney Allan Seidel discussed the Missouri Court Plan during a meeting of the Trenton Rotary Club on Thursday. Darren Lauhoff was the program chairman.
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Seidel, who serves on the 35-member Board of Governors for the Missouri Bar Association, gave background on the current plan, which has been in effect since 1940. While circuit court and associate circuit court judges in the rural areas are elected and declare a political party, appellate court judges and circuit court/associate court judges in the larger cities are appointed and retained through the merit system. Seidel said the plan was set up this way to keep politics out of the judicial process, although, it was noted that appellate court judges do appear on the ballot every six years to allow voters to decide whether or not they should be retained. He said that there has never been an appellate court judge that has not been retained. The Bar Association provides information about judges in an effort to help the public make their decisions about retention.
In determining judicial appointments, there is a seven-member committee, comprised of three members of the Bar Association, three members appointed by the governor and an appellate court representative, usually a Missouri Supreme Court Justice. He said the committee accepts nominations, then narrows the list to three, which is sent to the governor’s office and the final selection is made. He noted that if the governor does not select someone from the list, it is up to the committee to then make the selection.
Some changes to the process have been made in the last year to allow for more public scrutiny of the process. Nominations are now made by anyone, rather than the individual being considered the only one allowed to nominate themselves. In addition, the court is opening the interview process, although only committee members would be allowed to ask questions.
The local club will have a table at the district Rotary Foundation meeting, scheduled for Nov. 6 in Kansas City. Members interested in attending were asked to contact Crowley about tickets.
Next week’s program will be a visit by District Governor Jeff Romine.