The People v. The Elites in Missouri
March 26, 2010
James Harris of ShowMe Better Courts has a great piece in the Missouri Record that lifts the rock on the supposedly non-partisan Missouri Plan for picking judges. According to Harris:
“Wealth and well-connected lawyers, particularly those who are members of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, are allowed carte-blanche access to the selection process while ordinary citizens are shut out by a commission that meets behind closed doors.”
Rather than picking judges according to “merit” – as supporters of the Missouri Plan assure us – the commission chooses nominees “based on political friendships as well as ideological and financial considerations.” Harris pulls the curtain on the selection process for the last two Supreme Court nominees, where well-qualified legal scholars and law professors were bypassed for commission cronies.
Like all other states with “merit” selection systems, the question boils down to who should have the power to choose our public servants on the bench – the people or legal elites? Harris comes down firmly on the side of the people.
“Our courts are here to serve the people, not just well-connected attorneys. A system of direct involvement and democratic legitimacy will give us an impartial judiciary. The current system is marked by corruption and voter apathy.”