Missouri Plan - Definition and Overview

Also known as the merit plan, the Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan) is a method for the nonpartisan selection of judges currently used in 11 U.S. states. Many other states use a variant of it.

How the plan works

Under the plan, when there is a judicial vacancy a judicial selection commission, after soliciting applications and conducting interviews, recommends three persons to the governor. After interviewing the candidates, the governor selects one of the three recommended people to fill the seat. After appointment, judges must then run, unopposed, for continuance in office on their record. If a majority of voters disapproves of a judge, they must leave the bench and a new judge must be appointed to the vacancy (according to the same rules). However, only rarely do judges fail to gain public approval.

History and spread of the plan

Missouri adopted the system in the 1940s after several very contentious judicial elections, which were heavily influenced by the political machine of Tom Pendergast. Most low-level judges in Missouri are selected by other means, except in Kansas City and St. Louis, where the Missouri Plan is mandated by the state constitution for all judicial vacancies. After Missouri adopted this method for selecting judges, several other states adopted it, either in full or in part.

The 11 states currently using the Missouri Plan are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

The Missouri Plan is not without critics. There are several alternative ways of filling judicial posts which are used in other states. These include direct elections (either partisan or non-partisan), election by the state legislature, or appointment by the governor with advice and consent of the state senate.

See also: State supreme court

External links

Explanations of the Missouri Plan

• Info from Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator (http://www.osca.state.mo.us/index.nsf/0/3febf2c901768abe862564ce004ba8a1?OpenDocument)
• The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan – What Is It? (http://www.thehoustonlawyer.com/aa_mar03/aa_feature/page18/page18.htm)
• FAQ on plan (http://www.mobar.org/pamphlet/votejudg.htm) - From Missouri Bar Association

Pro-Missouri Plan links

• Let the People Judge the Judges: Reforming Virginia's Judicial Selection Process (http://www.virginiabusiness.com/magazine/yr2003/sep03/ideas.shtml)
• Judges and elections are not always a good mix (http://examiner.net/stories/020204/ken_020204006.shtml)

Anti-Missouri Plan links

• Minnesota Judicial Elections: Better Than the "Missouri Plan" (http://www2.mnbar.org/benchandbar/2002/oct02/lawyer-at-large.htm)
• The Case for Partisan Judicial Elections (http://www.fed-soc.org/Publications/White%20Papers/judicialelection.htm)