More Trouble for “Merit” Selection in Missouri
May 12, 2010
The recognition that “merit” selection is fatally flawed in its birthplace of Missouri appears to be growing.
Professor Chad Flanders of St. Louis University School of Law and law student Grant Gaumer have a piece in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlining a proposal to dump “merit” selection in favor of the federal model for picking judges. As Flanders and Gaumer point out:
“ … the [federal] method of selection is open and transparent and connected to the Governor and legislators, all accountable to the people.”
Accountability is crucial because, according to Flanders and Gaumer, “there is a decided lack of transparency” in the “merit” selection system which allows “political bias [to] creep in.”
Creep in? In Missouri, political bias is the driving force behind most judicial nominations – a phenomenon seen under both Democrat and Republican governors. The Flanders/Gaumer proposal is also helpful because it highlights the distinctions between the federal system and “merit” selection, which “merit” proponents, including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, often try to blur.