Gov. Mike Parson has elevated Judge Becky J.W. Borthwick to the circuit bench in Greene County. Borthwick, who had been an associate circuit judge, fills a circuit position that the General Assembly established in 2019. Parson’s office noted that she ...

Tagged with: Becky J.W. Borthwick Gov. Mike Parson M. Brandon Baker Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice George W. Draper III’s fiery speech at The Missouri Bar Annual Meeting boosted the profile of long-running concerns about bias in the judicial review process. In his Sept. 19 speech, Draper called out the “unprecedented ...

Tagged with: George W. Draper III judicial review process Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan Missouri Supreme Court Mound City Bar Association The Missouri Bar

Seventy years after Missouri enacted the nation’s first merit selection system for judges, a report from several public policy groups suggests the state is still a leader on that front. At the same time, the report’s authors tacitly endorsed at ...

Tagged with: judicial selection Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

Better Courts for Missouri says in a press release that it has filed a ballot initiative petition that would require all Missouri judges to be directly elected. The petition is in addition to – and in many ways the opposite ...

Tagged with: ballot initiative Better Courts for Missouri Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

Ten years ago, Judge William Ray Price Jr. held a press conference when he became chief justice of the state Supreme Court. In his words, “it wasn’t a big deal.” Nine days from assuming the same post again, Price (walking to his chambers with his dog, Lilly) held another press conference. It turned into an hour-long interview by nine reporters and photographers. Although the office of chief justice hasn’t changed much over the years, its importance to the outside world has. The heightened scrutiny is due in no small part to recent attacks on Missouri’s Nonpartisan Court Plan.

Tagged with: Judge William Ray Price Jr. Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

The Missouri Senate may debate changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan after a resolution altering how some judges are selected passed out of a Senate committee. Rep. Stanley Cox’s proposed constitutional amendment would, among other things, add another gubernatorial ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission judicial selection Kevin Engler Kurt Schaefer Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

The Appellate Judicial Commission on Friday named the first of three panels of candidates for openings on the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. The panel consists of Judge Jacqueline A. Cook, Cynthia L. Reams Martin and Mark D. Pfeiffer. ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Cynthia L. Reams Martin Jacqueline A. Cook Jay Nixon Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan