The Return of the Goon Squads in Missouri
April 20, 2010
Last week I posted on the temporary restraining order issued by a Missouri court. The TRO was against a lawyer-funded group that has hired goon squads to harass and intimidate Missouri voters signing petitions aimed at restoring their right to vote for Supreme Court justices. In a farcical about face, the judge dissolved the order within about 24 hours.
James Harris of ShowMe Better Courts – which launched the petition drive – pledged to refile the application because the “the original order had been dissolved on a technical issue rather than on the merits of the group’s claim.”
Why would a group of lawyers – led by the former Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court – feel the need to threaten voters to stop Missourians from even considering democratic judicial elections? That’s easy – because the Missouri Plan, whatever its noble intentions, has devolved into a system that gives lawyers a privileged role in choosing judges. In Missouri, it’s now the people vs. the powerful.
Posted by Dan Pero in the categories: Judicial Elections, Missouri
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