HCS HJR 49 -- APPELLATE JUDICIAL COMMISSION

SPONSOR:  Jones, 89 (Cox)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
General Laws by a vote of 5 to 3.

Upon voter approval, this proposed constitutional amendment
increases from three to five the number of judicial candidates
nominated by the Nonpartisan Judicial Commission for a vacancy in
the office of judge of specified courts from which the Governor
may make an appointment.  The Governor may veto the first list of
candidates provided by the commission within 60 days.  If the
panel of judicial candidates is vetoed, the commission must
submit a second list of nominees.  If the Governor fails to
appoint any of the nominees from the second list within 60 days,
the Lieutenant Governor must appoint a nominee from the second
list.  If the Lieutenant Governor does not appoint within 60
days, the commission will appoint a candidate from the second
list of nominees to fill the vacancy.

The amendment changes the composition of nonpartisan judicial
commissions.  The seven members of the Appellate Judicial
Commission will be chosen as follows:

(1)  Three members of the Missouri Bar, each a resident from a
different court of appeals district;

(2)  Three citizens, not members of the Missouri Bar, each a
resident from a different court of appeals district;

(3)  One citizen, not a member of the Missouri Bar, from anywhere
in the state.

Each circuit judicial commission will consist of five members to
be composed of two attorney members elected by the Missouri Bar
members residing in the judicial circuit and three non-attorney
members residing in the judicial circuit and appointed by the
Governor.  The terms of all members of the judicial commissions
will be four years.  Each appointment to the Appellate Judicial
Commission and Circuit Judicial Commissions is subject to the
advice and consent of the Senate within 30 legislative days of
the appointment by the Governor.

The judicial selection process must favor openness and public
access.  All hearings, debates, and votes of the commissions must
be open to the public and to the press with no less than 72 hours
public notice given before each meeting.  The list of applicants
for any judicial vacancy must be open to the public with their
names posted on the web site of the Missouri Supreme Court and
all information available to the respective commissions on the
judicial candidates must be made available to the Governor.
Every applicant nominated will be subject to a background check,
including a criminal check, which will not be a public record,
but available only to the commission and the Governor.

The amendment transfers the responsibility for the approval of
expenses incurred in the administration of the judicial selection
plan from the Missouri Supreme Court to the Commissioner of the
Office of Administration.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and
FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the current nonpartisan plan,
while state of the art and imitated at its inception, has become
political in its deliberations and selections.  Increasing the
number of gubernatorial appointments to the commission increases
the accountability of our elected officials.  Currently,
gubernatorial appointments make up only a minority of the
commission.  Three attorneys elected by the Missouri Bar and the
Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court make up four of the
seven commission members.  The majority of the commission is,
therefore, not accountable to all Missouri citizens.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Cox; James Byrne;
Missouri Eagle Forum; Samuel Hais; William Placke; Better Courts
for Missouri; and Thomas Walsh.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the nonpartisan
judicial selection plan has served Missouri well with broad
support from all segments of the legal community and business
community.  Increasing the gubernatorial appointments increases
the political nature of what should be an independent and
nonpartisan judiciary.

Testifying against the bill were Batya Abramson-Goldstein, Jewish
Community Relations Council; David Atchenberg; John Bardgett;
James Beck; Gregory Bentz; Karl Blanchard, Jr.; AARP Missouri
State Office; Grant Davis, Missouri Association of Trial
Attorneys; Doreen Dodson; Missouri National Education
Association; Leonard Frankel; Greater Kansas City Chamber of
Commerce; Missouri AFL-CIO; Missouri Federation of Teachers and
School Related Personnel; Charles Harris, Jr., Missouri Bar
Association; Carl Kraft; Kansas City Civic Council; Genevieve
Nichols; James O'Loughlin, Orscheln Industries; Randa Rawlins,
Shelter Insurance Companies; Missouri School Boards Association;
Landon Rowland; Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers; Howard
Shalowitz; Missouri Catholic Conference; Lisa Wexelman, Missouri
Institute for Justice; Fred Wilkins; and Wayne Withers, Emerson
Electric Company.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill provided a history of the
court from 1992 to 2007 and the effect that the judicial
selection by the Nonpartisan Court Plan has had on the court's
judicial philosophy and actions.

Testifying on the bill were William George Eckhardt; and Malia
Reddick, American Judicature Society.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:12 pm