Question

Your local League of Women Voters is establishing a new study group to better understand merit selection, or the so-called Missouri Plan for selecting judges, so as to be better informed when the matter comes up for a referendum. You are asked to explain this system of selecting judges, including its pros and cons when compared with, say, judges running for election on a partisan ticket. Prepare a Pro-Con analysis.

Answer 1

The Missouri plan uses to pick judges to its Supreme Court and some lower courts. Under this Missouri Plan, vacancies of judges are filled after a commission with a majority of lawyers nominates three people from them and from these three people governor must choose the next judge. A commission with a majority of lawyers nominates three people from them and from these three people governor must choose the next judge.

Pros of Missouri Plan-

1. It is experts nominating committee.

2. Lawyer nominate vetted candidates

3. Governor selects from vetted list

4. In Partisan election candidates rating are important

5. Party candidates arrange general election and maximum vote getter wins election

6. Judges, who can change public policy, are accountable to the public.

7. Earlier Missouri plan was made with the intended to take politics and special interests of a group out of judicial selection by giving the nominating authority to a neutral commission which has mostly lawyers.

Cons of Missouri plan-

1. It is dominated by the special interests of group of lawyers

2. It now becomes tool for partisan election where special interests groups want to cover the highest courts with like-minded judges.

3. Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, a very politically active organization controls at least 3 seats out of the seven in the commission that nominates judges to the Supreme Court

4. It work in absolute secrecy and no press and the public can know about anything

5. Missouri bar has denied for any improvement and if some suggests improvements then its messengers use personal attacks and threats against lawyers’ reputations and livelihood

6. Totally controlled by one special interest group

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