The Missouri House voted yesterday to keep intact the state’s judicial selection Star Chamber – where lawyers meet behind closed doors to pick judges.

That means – at least for now – judicial selection in Missouri will remain in the hands of the state’s trial bar. Of the seven members of Missouri’s Appellate Judicial Commission, three are trial lawyers and a fourth (the current Chief Justice) is a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Lawyers.

The news comes courtesy of Justice At Stake – the group bankrolled by billionaire hedge-fund titan George Soros, which is working to abolish judicial elections across America. JAS poses as a promoter of impartial courts – but it’s pretty obvious they don’t mind when powerful special interests are in control – as long as they’re the right special interests.

Of course, the real answer is to shut down the Star Chamber and allow voters to decide who sits on the bench.