‘Don't fool yourselves' about independence of courts, Price says

The Missouri Bar can't be complacent about special interest groups shimmying open the doors of the courthouse with their political agendas in tow, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. said Thursday.

Click here for the full text of Price's speech.

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In a luncheon address today to attorneys and judges at The Missouri Bar’s annual meeting, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. warned the bar about special interest grounds pounding at the courthouse doors with political agendas in ...

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Send help. Six attorneys who are politicians sent that message to attorneys today at a session on politics at the Missouri Bench and Bar meeting. “At noon, a third legislator will plead guilty to some allegation and it’s a very ...

Tagged with: Matt Bartle Talibdin El-Amin The Missouri Bar Tim Flook

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff tried to open a morning discussion on financial pressures facing the state’s justice system with a joke or anecdote this morning. But he couldn’t. “It’s not a joke. There isn’t one,” Wolff said at ...

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Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. today honored 18 state lawmakers, a former appellate court judge and The Missouri Bar’s outgoing president at a ceremony in St. Louis. “This morning we honor those who have taken the ...

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It took a protracted debate about how to structure the debate, but eventually The Missouri Bar Board of Governors approved some modest changes in advertising rules. The board rejected several controversial ideas Wednesday. Among the rejected rules were those preventing ads from vilifying opponents or including celebrity endorsements. The board also turned down a rule setting a precise definition of conspicuous disclosure of the mandatory disclaimer and another requiring direct mail solicitations to tell consumers how to contact the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

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The Judicial Conference began Tuesday with an all-day Presiding Judges meeting – where PJs from around the state talked about issues ranging from scientific evidence in courtrooms, videoconferencing, juries, legislation and budgets. The Judicial Conference convenes each year when The ...

Tagged with: The Missouri Bar William Ray Price Jr. Zel Fischer

"A who's who" of gun rights leaders and activists will be in St. Louis for the 24th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference this weekend at the Airport Renaissance Grand. Among the speakers will be Alan Gura (pictured), of the Washington D.C. law firm Gura & Possessky, who successfully argued District of Columbia v. Heller before the U.S. Supreme Court. The opinion, issued in 2008, held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for private use. This was the first time the court addressed an individuals' right to keep and bear arms.

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Proposal 2: Prohibit celebrity endorsements of an attorney unless the person is or was a client Brown & Crouppen ad: Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, hitting a punching bag, pitches the firm: “If I was hurt in a car wreck, I’d ...

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State budget cuts. Rising costs. Daunting caseloads for public defenders. Fewer clients for lawyers in private practice. Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch. The Missouri Bar plans to tackle economic concerns in its Thursday plenary session “Can We Afford Justice?” ...

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For most of his adult life, Michael Gibbons juggled the responsibilities of public office with his professional duties as an attorney. Gibbons – a former state senator who now works for Stinson Morrison Hecker in St. Louis – dived head ...

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