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

The Missouri Senate tackled alterations to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan for the first time last year. But after the measure failed to come to a vote in the Senate, legislative prospects are dim this year for changing the system ...

Tagged with: Better Courts for Missouri James Harris Jared Craighead Jim Lembke judicial selection Missouri House Missouri Senate Nonpartisan Court Plan Ron Richard Stanley Cox Todd Graves

After a legislative push to alter the Nonpartisan Court Plan faltered on Wednesday, opponents of how some judges are selected in Missouri see the initiative petition process as the vehicle to achieve their aims. A proposed constitutional amendment altering the ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Jim Lembke Missouri Bar Missouri Plan Nonpartisan Court Plan Skip Walther Stanley Cox

The Missouri Senate began debate Wednesday on substantial changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, the first time such alterations have been debated in the Missouri General Assembly’s upper chamber. “I won’t call it the Nonpartisan Court Plan, because it’s ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Jim Lembke Kurt Schaefer Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

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

As debate looms in the Missouri Senate on a constitutional amendment altering the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, The Missouri Bar is reiterating its opposition to changing the way the state chooses some of its judges. Bar President Tom Burke and President-elect Skip Walther held a press conference on Tuesday morning to skewer proposed changes offered in House Joint Resolution 10. The two attorneys portrayed the alterations as a way of injecting politics into the plan and giving more power over judicial selection to the governor.

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Charlie Shields Matt Bartle Missouri Bar Missouri Plan Nonpartisan Court Plan Skip Walther Stanley Cox Tom Burke

In some sense, Gov. Jay Nixon inspired the new direction for a proposal to require voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls. Since the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a voter ID law in 2006, Republicans have been ...

Tagged with: Constitution Jay Nixon Missouri Supreme Court Stanley Cox

Less than a day after it won initial approval in the Missouri House, a resolution altering Missouri's Nonpartisan Court Plan was sent to the Senate on Thursday. (pictured at left) Rep. Stanley Cox's resolution passed 85-72, three votes more than the constitutionally needed amount to send legislation to the Senate. Among other things, Cox's resolution would increase the number of judicial nominees from three to four. Watch video of Cox talking about the court plan. Click here to see how lawyers in the House voted.

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Bryan Pratt Missouri Missouri House Nonpartisan Court Plan Rachel Bringer Stanley Cox

The Missouri House sent a resolution altering Missouri’s Nonpartisan Court Plan to the Senate this morning, clearing a major hurdle for proponents for changing the state’s judicial selection process. Rep. Stanley Cox’s resolution passed 85-72, three votes more than the ...

Tagged with: Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

The Missouri House narrowly passed a proposed amendment Tuesday to change how the state selects its appellate judges. The measure won initial approval by an 82-72 vote – the minimum positive votes needed to proceed. The resolution needs another vote ...

Tagged with: Jason Kander John Burnett Stanley Cox

By the narrowest of margins, the Missouri House on Tuesday afternoon gave first-round approval to a proposed amendment to change how the state selects its appellate judges. The measure was adopted by an 82-72 vote – the minimum positive votes needed ...

Tagged with: Missouri House Stanley Cox