A group seeking to change the way judges are chosen announced Wednesday that it had filed a new ballot item requiring direct elections for judges. Under the current Nonpartisan Court Plan, judicial commissions select three finalists from an applicant pool ...

Tagged with: Better Courts for Missouri James Harris Nonpartisan Court Plan

The House Judiciary chairman expects the House next year won’t give floor time to an amendment to change the Nonpartisan Court Plan. Rep. Bryan Stevenson expects the fight to shift instead to an initiative petition drive. For the past two ...

Tagged with: Bryan Stevenson John Johnston Jolie Justus Nonpartisan Court Plan Tim Flook

Supporters of the status quo have filed two legal challenges to a ballot measure that would overhaul how Missouri selects its appellate judges. Heavy hitters from both political parties are involved. Former Supreme Court Judges Edward “Chip” Robertson, a Republican ...

Tagged with: ballot summary Chuck Hatfield Dale Doerhoff Edward "Chip" Robertson Harold Caskey John Schneider Nonpartisan Court Plan Roseann Bentley

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan on Tuesday approved a proposed constitutional amendment for circulation that would effectively scrap the Nonpartisan Court Plan. And the leader of the group pushing for repeal of the current iteration of the plan said his ...

Tagged with: ballot initiative Better Courts for Missouri James Harris Missouri Bar Nonpartisan Court Plan Robin Carnahan

Just as Judge Sonia Sotomayor sat down in Washington to experience the federal system's method of approving court nominees, a group in Missouri said the state should vet its judges in a similar way. Better Courts for Missouri said Monday that it has filed an initiative petition that would replace the Nonpartisan Court Plan with one modeled after the federal "advise and consent" system.

Tagged with: Better Courts for Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

Beyond the multitude of cases that were decided over the past two years, Laura Denvir Stith's tenure as chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court was notable for her role defending the Nonpartisan Court Plan. Stith will be stepping down from the chief justice position at the end of June, handing the job over to Judge William Ray Price Jr.

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Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, right, chats with Missouri Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, before moderating a panel discussion about the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis on Thursday. James Harris, head of Better Courts for Missouri, said that his group is considering collecting voter signatures for a ballot measure in 2010, even as another attempt is made in the Legislature to overhaul the Nonpartisan Court Plan.

Tagged with: Better Courts for Missouri Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference James Harris Nonpartisan Court Plan The Missouri Bar

Politicians know that people would believe almost any claim if it is simple and if it is repeated many times. It is Messaging 101: the sound bite. In the debate over judicial selection, politicians pushing for changing our system repeat ...

Tagged with: judicial selection Missouri Plan Nonpartisan Court Plan Skip Walther

After a legislative push to alter the Nonpartisan Court Plan faltered on Wednesday, opponents of how some judges are selected in Missouri see the initiative petition process as the vehicle to achieve their aims. A proposed constitutional amendment altering the ...

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Sen. Jim Lembke (pictured) championed reform of the Nonpartisan Court Plan on the floor of the Missouri Senate on Wednesday. It was the first time the controversial proposal had been debated by the full Senate. Lembke, a Republican from Lemay, took charge in shepherding a proposed constitutional amendment altering the plan used to choose judges in various parts of the state. And the longtime opponent of the current plan could point out opponents of his resolution, many of whom possessed a notebook about an inch and a half thick that featured talking points in support of the current plan.

Tagged with: David Pearce filibuster Jim Lembke Joan Bray Kurt Schaefer Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday that he would scuttle a controversial plan to, among other things, convert drug court commissioners into associate circuit judges. Senate Judiciary Chairman Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, said that a Senate draft ...

Tagged with: drug court commissioners Jeff Smith Judiciary Committee Chairman Bryan Stevenson Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan Senate Judiciary Committee